Pokémon: The Lillen League
by Greggles27
Summary: The journey of an aspiring Dragon Tamer as he searches the continent of Lillen for his missing brother. Accompanied by his partner Gible and a trainer called Loca, they set off to face the Lillen League
1. Chapter 1

Pokémon: The Lillen League

Chapter 1

Wolfrick opened his eyes. The sound of his alarm was almost deafening after the blissful silence of early morning, the first rays of sunlight were just breaking through his window. The light reflected off of the light blue walls of his bedroom, illuminating the unnatural tidiness, usually his floor was covered in dirty clothes and his clutter was usually wide spread. However today was they day he left on his journey, as such he had been forced to tidy his room before beginning his adventure. He lay there for a few moments to just soak in the day.

Once he turned off his Venosaur alarm-clock he could hear the sounds of his mother making her way downstairs to make breakfast. He quickly got dressed, making sure not to forget lucky leather jacket, his father had given it to him before he died so he was not going to forget it. The black leather was rough and well-worn and inside was space for six Pokéballs to be held. He even had the dusk ball his father had left in the pocket.

Wolfrick bounded down the stairs as soon as the smell of his mother's cooking wafted to his nostrils, she was waiting for him in the kitchen with his breakfast waiting on the table. "Morning Wolfy," she said with a rather forced smile, he knew his mother was going to miss him when he left but she still had his little brother Ray to keep company, "All ready to go?"

"Mmmhmmm," Wolfy mumbled through a mouth full of steaming hot scrambled egg.

She startled him then by hugging him hard, "I'm going to miss you, you're all grown up now I know but it's going to be more difficult without you."

"Mum you know I'm going to call all the time and visit whenever I can," he said repeating himself for the hundredth time, "I'm eighteen now, that's when you get your first Pokémon in the Lillen region. It's time for me to grow, I'm going to be the greatest Dragon Tamer in the world."

"I know but your brother has already left us to go on his journey," she said through wet eyes, "Drake is wandering around somewhere, he rarely calls and never visits, I don't want you to forget us too."

"Mum, Drake hasn't forgotten us," he said hugging her back now, "he's very busy now but you're not going to lose me, I'll email you on my Pokégear every day. And if I run into Drake I'll kick him until he calls."

This last attempt at humour got a chuckle from her allowing her to hold back the tears, she walked off to the kitchen to wash up and prepare Ray's breakfast. Ray was three years younger than Wolfy but was extremely mature; he knew he could trust Ray to look after their mum. He walked over to the mirror after he had finished his breakfast and tried to fix his dark black hair but as usual it remained defiant. His dark brown eyes and olive skin were exactly the same as his mother's; apparently he looked exactly like his father apart from those two features. He picked up his Pokégear from the table and slipped it into his jeans pocket. He picked up his backpack from the coat rack and went back to the kitchen, his mother turned at the sound of his footsteps and hugged him again.

"I've got something for you," she said as she pulled away. She walked over to the cabinet and came back with a credit card, "Your father and I started this account when you were born, it should have more than enough money to get you through your journey."

Wolfy took the card and placed it in the inside pocket of his jacket before hugging her in thanks. He turned at the sound of someone coming down the stairs and saw his blonde haired brother fully dressed, raring to go.

"You ready big bro? I'm sure Professor Yew is waiting for you," he said impatient to get going, Ray had been looking forward to this day almost as much as Wolfy.

Wolfy looked back to his mother and smiled before turning to his little brother, "Ready when you are Ray."

Ray had begged and begged Wolfy to take him on his journey; he couldn't wait to start his own and dreamed of being a breeder. After weeks of begging they came to a compromise, Ray would accompany him to the borders of Kaida town after Wolfy got his first Pokémon. Wolfy was glad to have the company, especially since his brother was such a Pokémon nut, he knew everything there is to know about Pokémon.

"Be safe!" he heard his mother yell as he walked out the door.

They walked down their garden path and turned the corner, the Professor's lab was in the centre of town, right next door to the Pokémon centre. Professor Yew was an extremely bright woman whose research was dedicated to the effect of a Pokémon's relationship with its trainer on its strength. She was a bit scatter brained and eccentric but on the whole she was very reliable.

"So which Pokémon are you going to pick?" Ray asked as they walked along.

"The Professor has a special request regarding my Pokémon," Wolfy said remembering the email she had sent him, "All she said is it was going to be difficult to train."

"So why did you agree?" Ray asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"Well since when do you know me to turn down a challenge?" I asked smiling at him, he laughed a bit as they walked on.

It wasn't a long journey, in a matter of minutes they were standing outside the lab. It was quite a small lab compared to others but Professor Yew had a very specialized area of expertise so there wasn't much funding for her work. The building had a silvery sheen due to the one-way glass that covered the outside of the building.

"Here goes nothing," Wolfy said as he reached for the electric door switch. Before he could press it the door wizzed open and a young girl slammed into him, the two of them went flying backwards onto the pavement.

"I'm so sorry," the girl said as she climbed off of him, her hair was bright red, her skin was pale and her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that contrasted heavily with her hair, "please forgive me!"

"Hey no worries, who needs a spine anyway?" Wolfy replied sarcastically, he righted himself brushing off his jeans.

"I'm so, so sorry," She said again holding her delicate hands over her mouth, "I was just in a rush to begin my journey. I may have got a little too excited."

"Like I said, don't worry," Wolfy said again as he tried to decipher what she had said through her hands, "I'm beginning mine today too, you never know we may get to battle one day."

She smiled, obviously relieved Wolfy wasn't mad. "I look forward to it," she said and started walking off, "just don't cry when you lose." She yelled back with a smile on her face.

Wolfy smiled, he had a rival already and he hadn't even got his Pokémon yet. With a new excitement burning in him he followed Ray into the lab. The room was full of super-computers, analytical equipment and, best of all, Pokémon. Ray ran off instantly, overcome at the sight of so many Pokémon.

"There's a Nidoran, there's a Seviper, ooh and that's a Scraggy!" Ray started walking from Pokémon to Pokémon, examining each one as if his life depended upon it. Wolfy couldn't really blame him, the only Pokémon Ray had ever seen himself were to local Pidgey, Taillow and the Bidoof that lived by the river just outside of town.

"Come on Ray," Wolfy called breaking him out of his rambling, "We're here for my Pokémon remember?"

"Wolfy," a voice called from behind him. Professor Yew had just walked in from one of the back rooms, her curly black hair fell down below her shoulders in dozens of ringlets, her fair features were attractive despite the fact that she was double Wolfy's age. "Let the young boy have his curiosity."

"As long as he's not a bother Professor," Wolfy said half glad that his younger brother could enjoy himself.

"No bother at all," she said walking over to Ray and mussing his hair, "He has the makings of a fine Pokémon Professor."

Ray blushed at the compliment before speaking in barely more than a whisper, "Actually I want to be a Pokémon breeder, I want to help sick Pokémon and raise young ones."

"Ah that is an admirable goal young man," Professor Yew said smiling, "if you like you can come here for an hour after school and I can teach you about the Pokémon we have here?"

Ray's face lit up as though it was Christmas morning and he'd be presented with dozens of presents. He nodded vigorously before turning to Wolfy, "Do you think mum would let me?"

"Course she would Ray," Wolfy said smiling, knowing his younger brother would be looked after mad him feel much better about leaving, "Ask her just in case but I think she'll say yes."

"Well that's a matter for another day, for now it's time I make a request of you Wolfy," she said turning to him, "How'd you like to help me with my research?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wolfy followed the Professor into the back room she had originally exited when he arrived, Ray followed along close behind. The room they walked into was much like the other except it was full of Pokéballs; dozens of them lined the walls, some were standard Pokéballs whilst others were of different colours and designs. They followed the professor to a cluttered desk at the back of the room, on it were mounds of paper work and a laptop, next to that was another, larger computer with many slots and holes.

"Wolfy I have a special request to make of you," The Professor said turning to him when she reached the desk, "I know you dream of becoming a Dragon Tamer and you teacher at school tells me about how caring you are towards everyone, even the more difficult students. I think you are perfect to help me with my research.

"My research focuses on the relationship between Pokémon and their trainers," the Professor continued as if she was making a speech at a seminar, "This includes loving relationships, respectful relationships, cold ones and even hateful ones. I want to see what effect this has on a Pokémon's development, as such I want to give you a Pokémon for you to raise. Raise it however you wish but I want you to make notes on how you raise it and send them to me."

"It would be my pleasure Professor," Wolfy said barely able to contain his excitement, Ray was practically bouncing next to him.

"Good," she said beaming, "Of course I will help you on your journey, I will give you a Pokédex," she said handing him a metallic black device with a large camera on the front, the device was obviously meant to flip open. "And your Pokéballs." She said handing him five standard Pokéballs. "Now before I give you your first Pokémon are you sure you want to be a Dragon Tamer? Dragon types are particularly difficult to train, it won't be easy."

"That's what I like best about them," Wolfy said smiling, "They're a challenge and I never turn down a challenge."

Professor Yew smiled and nodded, "That is a very admirable outlook to have. Well if that's the case then here is your first Pokémon, the only dragon type I have to give."

She handed him a blue and white Pokéball, it had two silver fang-like designs on the top half of the ball. Wolfy knew the ball to be one made by the trainers from the Village of Dragons in Unova, it was a long way from home. He pressed the button on the front of the ball to make it larger, the first step to releasing the Pokémon.

Before he could release it however the Pokéball burst open on its own, a white light shot out of the broken open ball and landed on the ground. Once the light faded a small, two foot tall, blue Pokémon stood in front of him; it had a yellow belly and two small pod-like things on either side of its head. Its short arms and legs were tiny in comparison to the body which was mostly mouth. It had a small dorsal fin on the back of its head; a notch was missing from it halfway down the back.

It looked up at him curiously and said, "Gible?"

"A Gible?" Ray said almost reverently as he looked shocked at the little Pokémon. "A ground and dragon type? Those are really rare, they're not found anywhere in Lillen!"

"Correct Ray," The Professor said looking a little impressed, "It was given to me by a travelling Dragon Master called Drayden. He left it for me after I told him about you Wolfy," she said smiling to him, "He was impressed with your compassion and your dream to become a Dragon Tamer, he wanted to help you with this dream."

"Drayden from Unova?" Wolfy asked stunned, Drayden was one of the highest ranked Dragon Masters in the whole world, a legend to anyone who respected the dragon types, "So he left me a Gible?"

Yew nodded as Gible walked up to Wolfy and started sniffing his trainer, "This Gible is the only one of its kind in Lillen as your brother said, but more so he is the only Gible with those colourings. He is what we call a "shiny" Pokémon, a one-of-a-kind Pokémon who looks different to those of the same species."

Wolfy looked down at Gible now feeling even more stunned, he had been trusted with the rarest Gible in the world and it was now chewing on his shoe laces. Wolfy leaned down and picked it up, holding Gible in his arms, "Do you want to come with me Gible?"

"Gib-gib-gible!" it said excitedly jumping around in Wolfy's arms, he couldn't help but smile at that, "Brilliant, then together we will become the best partners there is!"

Gible jumped around even more vigorously than before, Wolfy hugged it happily, he was so honoured to have been chosen by Drayden to train Gible and he was even happier that Gible was so friendly. He was overwhelmed.

"Looks like you two will be a great team," Professor Yew said laughing as Gible jumped on Ray's head and started playing with his hair, "Gible is a young Pokémon, it was recently hatched when he was given to me and I haven't trained him. But anyway we should teach you how to use your Pokédex before you leave. Flip it open and point the camera at Gible, then press the centre button."

Wolfy flipped it open to find the Pokédex had two screens, one big and one small. It also had six buttons; four acting as arrows pointing out from the central one, the last off to the right was in the shape of a cross. As soon as he opened it the top screen displayed the image the camera was seeing, he moved it so Gible was on screen and pressed the middle button, instantly the Pokédex registered Gible and started to record his actions. As it was recording an electronic voice started speaking from the Pokédex. "_Gible the Land Shark Pokémon. Gible attacks its opponents with its huge mouth and has been known to eat through steel. It can travel underground as if it were swimming through water."_

"That was the Pokédex entry for Gible, it will do the same for any Pokémon you show it," Professor Yew said, "It works like an encyclopaedia but it'll gain new information as you use it. It can also show you what moves your Pokémon knows if you show it the Pokémon's Pokéball."

Wolfy did as she said and text appeared on the small screen showing what moves Gible knew; Scratch, Dragon Rage and Sand Attack. The text for Dragon Rage was orange whilst the others were all green. "What does the colour of the text mean?"

"Green means the Pokémon can use it easily," the professor answered whilst Gible played with Ray, "Orange means they can use it but not always and red means they can't use it yet but its learning."

"So since Dragon rage is orange that means what exactly?" Wolfy asked confused, not exactly sure what she meant by "not always".

"Well lets find out shall we?" She asked almost too happily, "Follow me."

"Come on Gible," Wolfy called, Gible instantly jumped off Ray and climbed up Wolfy's back to sit on his shoulder. He sat there happily wiggling his little legs; he smiled before walking after the Professor with Ray at his heels.

They followed her outside into the bright sunshine, the back of the lab was very large, almost a ranch in fact. It contained many different terrain types for all the different Pokémon that the professor cared for, rocky, watery, swampy, even a small forest and a large plain. The town was built around the lab's land allowing for all the room the Pokémon could need. Directly in front of the door was a small battlefield, the rectangular area was set out on green grass with a box at each end for the trainers.

"Ray how would you like to be Gible's first opponent?" Professor yew asked holding out a Pokéball, almost before she'd finished asking he was next to her taking the ball before running to his box. "Come on then Wolfy, time for your first battle with Gible."

Wolfy smiled before walking to his box and placing Gible on the ground, he happily jumped around, ecstatic to have his first battle. "Gible, follow my directions and we'll do just fine," Wolfy said smiling to Gible who jumped around even more.

"Ready?" Professor Yew called and both Wolfy and Ray nodded, "Okay, then begin!"

"Go Pokémon!" Ray called throwing the ball, the white light shot to the ground revealing a small pink Pokémon with a pink ponytail on the top of its head and what looked like an egg in its pouch, "Happiny!" it called.

Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex and checked the information on Happiny, "_Happiny the Playhouse Pokémon. It likes to carry a rounded stone which it pretends is an egg. It often wanders around peoples' legs and may cause them to trip up accidentally"._

So it was a normal type Pokémon, Wolfy knew from Trainer School that normal types were only weak to fighting moves and since Gible couldn't use any fighting moves this battle would all be about strength. It was time to start out strong, "Gible use Dragon Rage!"

"Gible!" he said before a blue glow emitted from the centre of his body, the light grew stronger and stronger until it was almost the same size as Gible. Then the light moved to its mouth and shot outwards, straight at the ground. The light exploded right in front of Gible sending him flying into Wolfy.

"I got you!" Wolfy yelled as he caught Gible, he looked a little damaged but nothing major, Gible smiled at him in thanks, "We'll work on that later, for now can you still fight?"

"Gible-gib!" He said enthusiastically before jumping out of his arms and back onto the battlefield.

"Do you want to go on?" Professor Yew called from the side-lines.

"Of course we do!" Wolfy yelled back accompanied by an energetic jump from Gible, "Gible Sand Attack!

Gible ran up to Happiny who was happily dancing around by itself, before Happiny knew what was happening Gible threw sand at it, so much so that Happiny was almost buried. Happiny just started playing in the sand instead.

"Come on Ray!" Wolfy yelled, "Call a move!"

"R-right," Ray stuttered looking a little flustered, Ray had always struggled with battles at Trainer School, "Happiny use pound!"

Happiny jumped up out of the sand and plodded towards Gible who was looking a bit bewildered at Happiny. When Happiny's hand started glowing however Gible was able to pull himself together and dodge the attack.

"Ok Gible, use Scratch!"

"Gib-Gib!" Gible called as he jumped over Happiny, using his claws to scratch the top of Happiny's head as he jumped. Happiny stopped playing then and turned to Gible with a look of richeous anger on its little face. Gible stepped back in fear of the demented look on Happiny's face.

"No Happiny," Ray called to it, "Don't use Leer unless I tell you to!"

Happiny followed Ray's direction and went back to playing around with the sand, it obviously wasn't bothered about battling. Wolfy couldn't let his first battle with Gible be anything but a win otherwise it would devastate the poor thing, he couldn't bear to see Gible lose its enthusiasm. Then an idea struck him.

"Gible, jump above Happiny and use Dragon Rage!"

"Gible?" he said looking at him quizzically obviously not wanting to get hurt again for no reason.

"Trust me Gible," Wolfy yelled encouraging the young Pokémon, "You can do it!"

Gible nodded before the blue glow began to build again, he ran to Happiny before jumping up high. He released the energy whilst he was high above his target, the ball of light shot downwards straight at Happiny. The blast was small but blindingly bright, Gible obviously had a lot of power for a young Pokémon. When the light died down Happiny had fainted and was lying on its back, Gible landed a few feet away from it, unharmed.

"Happiny is unable to continue," Professor Yew called, "Gible wins!"

Gible bounced its way ecstatically over to Wolfy and jumped into his outstretched hands, "Amazing Gible! You were brilliant!"

Wolfy and Gible celebrated whilst Professor Yew gave Happiny and Oran berry to help heal it. "That was excellent Wolfy, Gible really trusts you," she smiled as she spoke before turning to Ray, "And you did well too Ray, especially since you don't plan on becoming a trainer."

Ray blushed a little before handing the professor Happiny's Pokéball, "You and Gible were amazing Wolfy, slow start but strong finish. You're going to make a great team I can tell!"

"Thank you Ray," Wolfy said as he walked over and one-arm hugged his little brother, Gible hugged Ray too at the same time, "You were brilliant little brother."

"Time to show you the Pokémon centre," the Professor said breaking up the family hug, "I think Gible deserves a little rest after that."

"Agreed," Wolfy said smiling at Gible who danced around in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

"Nurse Joy," the Professor called as she walked into the Pokémon centre, "I have a new trainer here who needs some help."

Nurse Joy popped her head around from the room behind the desk, her pink hair matched the colour of the nurses uniform she wore. Her eyes were blue and friendly and her smile was welcoming, "Judith Yew, how have you been?"

"Very good," she said smiling back, "This is Wolfy, I'm sure you know him from the Trainer School?"

"Yes I remember you," she said with a smile, "One of the headmaster's prodigies correct?"

"Just Wolfy will do," he said embarrassed shaking her slight and delicate hand, "I was hoping you could help my Gible, We had a battle and he hurt himself using Dragon Rage."

"A Gible?" she asked surprised reminding Wolfy that Gible was a unique Pokémon, "Well there's a first time for everything, let me have a look at him."

Wolfy handed Gible over who was emphatically happy as usual; even though it was hurt it was still dancing around merrily. She took him to the room she had just come from and returned a moment later, "Chansey will take good care of Gible, he'll be one-hundred percent in no time."

"So have you thought about where you're going to go from here Wolfy?" the professor asked whilst they waited.

"I want to find more dragon types but I also want to find my older brother if I can," he said looking at Ray who saddened a little at the mention of the eldest of the three brothers, "Nobody has heard from Drake for a long time and mum is worried sick."

"Your brother Drake?" Nurse Joy asked, "He wanted to enter the Lillen League, he was aiming to defeat eight of the Lillen gyms to gain entry to the league. If you want to find him maybe you should challenge the gyms?"

"That's a good idea," the professor added, "There aren't many Pokémon trainers in Lillen, only about ten percent of its citizens are trainers so the gym leaders would likely remember Drake if he challenged them. You might as well challenge them too if you're setting out to find them anyway."

"That's great!" Ray chirped up, "Then you and Drake can become rivals!"

"Well I don't know…" Wolfy hesitated; he wanted to become a Dragon Tamer which meant training lots of dragon types but what if the Lillen League challenge distracted him from that task?

"It'll be a good way to train your Pokémon as well as yourself," Professor Yew said, "If you want to be a Dragon Tamer you need to be able to show your Pokémon that you're as strong as they are, the Pokémon league is a great way of doing that."

"Ok, as long as it will help me be a Dragon Tamer," Wolfy conceded, Nurse Joy instantly produced some forms for him to fill in and asked him to insert his Pokédex into a special machine. It took his picture and registered his Pokémon as well as his ability to compete in the Lillen League.

"Giiiiiiiiiiibbblllllllle!" Gible called as he entered the room on a tray carried by a pink Pokémon with an egg in its pouch, a quick check of the Pokédex showed it to be Chansey, the evolved form of Happiny.

"Gible is feeling great as you can see," Nurse Joy laughed as it jumped from the tray into Wolfy's arms before climbing onto his shoulder again, "He seems to like you a lot."

"Aren't you going to put him in his Pokéball?" Ray asked as he looked up to Gible wiggling his feet on Wolfy's shoulder.

"Nah, I'm going to keep him out of his Pokéball as much as possible," Wolfy said smiling at his new partner, "I read somewhere that it helps develop the bond between trainer and Pokémon."

"Good idea," Professor Yew said suddenly excited, "You can help me do a whole new section for my research on keeping Pokémon out of their Pokéballs, genius!"

Gible jumped on Ray's head again and they started playing a game where Gible would steer Ray by pulling on his hair. Wolfy looked to Professor Yew with a question that had been bothering him, "Professor, why didn't Gible's Dragon Rage work properly?"

"He probably hasn't quite worked out the technique for it yet," she said smiling empathetically, "If you help him work on it he will perfect it in no time, I'm sure. In the meantime since Gible is a ground type as well as a dragon type you might want to teach it to use Dig, it's a simple but powerful move especially when used right."

"Good idea," Wolfy replied nodding, "But how do I help him with his Dragon Rage?"

"That's something you'll have to discover for yourself I'm afraid. Anyway it's nearly midday, you have to get going soon don't you?"

Wolfy nodded his agreement and collected Gible and Ray. They both thanked Nurse Joy and Professor Yew before walking towards the northern edge of town. They walked in silence for a while, neither one wanting to display how much they were going to miss the other. Once they reached the border between Kaida Town and Emerald Woods they stopped, Wolfy picked this route as this is where Drake had left him a year ago to go on his journey. If he was going to find Drake then this was a good place to start. He turned to his brother and without a word they hugged each other tightly, not needing to say anything as they both knew how each other felt.

"I got something for you," Wolfy said reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the Pokéballs that Professor Yew had given him, he handed it over to Ray, "You might be to young to start your journey but you can still catch a Pokémon if your clever about it. That's extra since I have dad's old dusk ball with me."

"Seriously?!" Ray said beaming looking at the Pokéball in his hands. Wolfy had already checked it was ok with his mum, she knew how much it would mean to Ray since he would be the only boy left in the house.

"Don't waste it ok?" Wolfy said seriously, "Make sure your friends with the Pokémon first before you catch it otherwise it'll just run away if you can't battle it."

"Thank you bro," Ray said hugging his leg, Gible jumped onto Ray's head one last time before sitting back up on Wolfy's shoulder.

As he started to walk away he turned back to his little brother for the last time in a long while, "Take care bro. Don't worry, I'll bring you back a souvenir." With that Wolfy walked off to start his adventure and hopefully find his brother.

* * *

Wolfy checked his Pokégear whilst sat under a tree at the edge of a clearing, looking for his brother's most likely route. The closest Pokémon gym was in Naxren Town, two towns north of the Emerald forest. But from there he wasn't sure where he could go, he knew his brother had been challenging the gyms just before he stopped contacting their mum but he rarely said where he had been. In fact he only mentioned three places in the few emails he had sent them; Firaxal Tower, Braken Cave and Kontace Mountain. They were all pretty much on different sides of the continent of Lillen, the semi-triangular shape of land he saw on the map showed the scale of his problem. Apart from the central mountain range that separated the north and south of the continent, there were other obstacles he'd have to get around; swamps, forests, cave networks, even a volcano. This was not going to be easy.

He snapped shut the Pokégear and found Gible staring at him questioningly, "Don't worry Gible," Wolfy said guessing what the Pokémon was worrying about, "I'm just trying to figure out which way to go, we'll be in Naxren Town in four days but after that I'm not sure. Maybe we'll find answers there that'll help us."

"Gible," he said nodding before dancing off to try and climb the Oran tree again as he had been doing for the last twenty minutes. It was starting to get dark but Wolfy didn't want to set up camp just yet, if he wanted to get to Fengrove village before sundown tomorrow but there was still a lot of forest to get through. He let Gible carry on playing for a while, he just couldn't bring himself to interrupt his game, especially since Gible was very proud of himself anytime he grabbed a berry. Oran berries were good for Pokémon, they helped keep them strong.

Wolfy started when he heard a twig snap, he rose to his feet quickly and looked around but the forest was dark and difficult to see through. Wolfy remained still, tense, straining to hear any other sounds. Gible noticed his partner's mood and quickly bounded over to join him, climbing up Wolfy's back and sitting on his shoulder.

Then he heard a girl scream in the distance over to his right, Wolfy sprinted in the direction, scooping up his bag along the way. He bounded over bushes and a fallen tree, ducking under branches and side-stepped a Spinarak nest. He had no idea what he was running into but someone was in trouble, he had to help.

Soon he spotted the flickering light of a campfire ahead of him and slowed his pace, doing his best not to make any noise as he got closer. Soon he heard a voice yelling, "Quiet you little twit, scream again and it'll be your last!" The voice was deep and grumbley, obviously belonging to a large man. Slowly he crept closer, doing his best to stay out of the fire light whilst Gible held on tightly to Wolfy's hair.

Then he spotted her, the girl who knocked into him at the lab, her red hair was messed up and she looked furious. She was tied to a tree whilst two men stood before her, one large and muscular, his bald head reflecting the fire light somewhat. The other was short and skinny, wearing a black hat. Both were clad in a black uniform that definitely didn't belong to any police force, to say they were shady would be an understatement.

The skinny on was talking on a Pokégear whilst throwing and catching a Pokéball in the air, "No sir, we don't know who she is, we found her on the way to our objective. No, no she must be a fresh trainer, her Eevee didn't put up much of a fight and she doesn't have any other Pokémon."

There was a pause before the man uttered a grunt in agreement to whatever his boss had told him to do. "What'd the boss say Curley?" The larger one asked.

"We're to continue on to Kaida town and resume the plan," Curley said facing his large friend, The light fell upon his sharply angled face, "the Pokémon in that lab are worth a lot of money, one in particular."

"What about her?" the large man grumbled.

"Well Tank," Curley said with a dark grin, "We can do what we like with her as long as we give her Eevee to the boss."

The girl's face turned pale with fear as she looked up at the two men, she was defenceless. Without thinking Wolfy burst out of the bushes into the light of the fire, "I won't let you touch her!"

Both men turned in surprise as did the girl, as soon as she recognised him he saw relief pass over her face. "Who are you?" Curley asked looking incredulous that a young man would dare try and stop him.

"I'm Wolfy, a Dragon Tamer and I command you to let her go and return her Pokémon!" Wolfy yelled trying to sound as strong and confident as he could, in all honesty he was scared witless, he only had Gible to defend him and he couldn't use Dragon Rage properly.

"Do you know who we are boy?" Tank growled, "We are members of Team Granite, nobody dares to command us!"

"Tank stop, look!" Curley said with one hand on his partner's shoulder whilst the other pointed to Wolfy's shoulder, "The boy brought the Pokémon to us, get that Gible!"

Before he knew what was happening Tank had thrown a Pokéball, the white flash subsided revealing a Poochyena that looked mad. It was twice the size of Gible, its short grey fur covered it's dog-like body. "Poochyena, use Sand Attack!"

Instinctively Wolfy grabbed Gible and shielded him with his body, the sand blasted him a high speeds grating against the back of his neck. Gible looked up at Wolfy admiringly, touched that his trainer would take the hit for him. Gible quickly jumped out of his hands and bounded off Wolfy's head. Wolfy turned when the sand stopped to see Gible riding Poochyena whilst using Scratch, the dog whimpered as it tried to throw off Gible but with no success. With one last Scratch to the back of Poochyena's head it fell to the ground unconscious.

"You fool, you can't even stop a kid," Curley said slapping Tank around the back of the head whilst Gible ran back to stand in front of Wolfy, "My turn! Come on out Sandile!"

Another white flash revealed a small Pokémon that looked like a miniature crocodile. Its body was the colour of desert sand and it had black eyes and black striped running across the back of its body all the way down to its short tail. Its large mouth looked particularly powerful.

"Sandile, use Mud-Slap!" Curley called angrily.

"Gible, jump and dodge it!" Wolfy called. As Sandile whipped its tail through the earth launching a small wave of mud, Gible jumped over the wave and cleared the distance between him and Sandile. "Use Dragon Rage like we did before!" He jumped again so he was directly above Sandile as the blue glow built to its height, he released the ball of energy and it crashed down onto Sandile's back. The blast of the explosion was so strong that the two members of Team Granite were hurtled into a nearby tree, leaving them both unconscious. As Curley landed the Pokéball he had been throwing around rolled out of his hand and came to a stop in the middle of the clearing.

"Gible you were brilliant!" Wolfy called as Gible bounded up to him, happy as could be. "Once we perfect Dragon Rage nobody will be able to stop you!"

"Gible-gib!" he said jumping into Wolfy's arms, They embraced quickly before running over to the tied up girl. Gible jumped down and ran over to the fallen Pokéball.

"You're not hurt are you?" Wolfy said as he pulled on the rope, trying to loosen it.

"No not at all," she said a little stunned, "Your Gible is powerful."

"He's still young though," Wolfy said as he turned to see Gible carrying the Pokéball above his head, "but he's one of a kind. That's probably why they were trying to take him."

"At any rate thank you both," the girl said as the ropes finally loosened, "Those two goons jumped me as I was walking through the forest, they attacked me and Elliot but he wasn't strong enough. I'm Loca by the way."

"My name is Wolfrick but my friends call me Wolfy," he said standing up, Gible ran over to Loca giving her the Pokéball. "I take it Elliot is your Eevee?"

"Yes, my first Pokémon that I got today," she said taking the Pokéball and petting Gible, "Thank you Gible, you were amazing."

"We need to get out of here before those two wake up," Wolfy said as Gible took his position back on his shoulder, "come on."

"We need to get to a Pokémon centre to help Elliot too," she said standing up, "He got hurt fighting that Poochyena. Which way should we go?" she asked looking around blindly.

"Let's keep going north," Wolfy said after considering the question for a moment, he still had to find his brother and he knew there was a Pokémon centre in Fengrove village. Besides he was sure that Team Granite would follow them so it was better to keep them away from Professor Yew's lab. Wolfy set off at a jog with Loca hot on his heels, it didn't look like they were going to get any sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

They soon found the trail but neither of them tried to slow down; they jogged on passing very little but trees and the occasional forest Pokémon. A few Wurmple and Combee got in the way, trying to challenge them to a fight but Gible dispatched them quickly with a flurry of Scratch attacks. Soon they were running out of steam as was Gible, they had to stop and rest for a time. Wolfy led them off the trail in search of a place to rest, he felt they had to be a fair distance from the path in case the Team Granite grunts were searching for them. As they passed another Oran tree he picked and handful, handing two to Gible so he could recover some lost energy. They soon found a large, hollow tree big enough to house them comfortably so they settled down for a rest.

"So where are you from?" Wolfy asked whilst he retrieved his camping stove from his pack as well as some basic cooking gear, "I've lived in Kaida town all my life and I've never seen you before."

"I'm from Jhoto originally," she said trying to get comfortable against the inside of the trunk, "I moved to Lillen six months ago, my parents live in Starstruck city on the western corner of the continent. My dad's Fearow flew my to Kaida town this morning."

"Jhoto really?" Wolfy asked impressed, he'd never met anyone from Jhoto before but that's probably because it was so far away, "Don't you gety our first Pokémon when you're ten in Jhoto?"

"Yeah but I wasn't allowed," she said looking sad, "all my friends left one by one with their Pokémon until I was the only one. My mom had forbidden it until I was eighteen because she's from Lillen."

Wolfy nodded as he poured water from his cantine onto a flat tin and started cutting up the Oran berries, dropping each slice one-by-one into the water. He passed five to Loca instructing her to feed them to her Eevee to help it get better before tossing one more to Gible as he had finished the one's he had already been given and was looking at him pleadingly.

"Hungry little thing isn't he," She said as she released Elliot from his Pokéball whilst Wolfy added some fresh vegetables from his pack into the water before setting it on the stove. Elliot was a light brown colour with large pointed ears and big dark eyes; it had a collar of longer fur around its neck as well as a white silk scarf that Loca had obviously given it. It was obviously in a bad way, its eyes were only half open and its fur was in a mess, even its big bushy tail lay limp in Loca's arms. She slowly fed it the Oran berries and it accepted them gratefully.

Whilst their soup warmed up Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to see if it had any information on Eevees that could help. _"Eevee, the evolution Pokémon. Due to its genetic makeup it is capable of evolving into several different forms. When Eevee gets sick often the only thing that can make it better is a Cheri berry."_

Wolfy thought for a moment before standing up and walking outside into the quickly swallowed what was left of the Oran berry before following Wolfy and climbing up onto his shoulder. "I'll be back in a minute, don't let the stew burn," he said to Loca before setting off in search of a Cheri berry.

Wolfy slowly searched as best he could, the sun had almost set but in the forest it was pitch black. He knew Cheri berries were found on small tress much like the Oran berries but that they preferred darker places to grow so he searched the overgrown sections of the woods. He kept searching but in the darkness they could be three feet away and he wouldn't be able to tell, he could only make out what berries he found when they were a few inches from his face.

His search went on while he got farther and farther from the hollow tree, he felt that he should turn back in case he suddenly became lost. Then off in the darkness he saw a light, his first instinct was to run back to the hollow and hope the goons from Team granite passed them by but he quickly realised it wasn't a torchlight, it flickered like a flame and was coming closer to them. Wolfy decided to stay still and wait, he didn't know what he was going to be up against but he felt sure it wasn't Team Granite, they would surely use an electric torch in this day and age. Wolfy sat still and silent as a statue as the flame came closer and closer until it was only feet away.

An orange lizard looking Pokémon made its way out of the bush and stood braced before them. It looked right at them with its big green eyes, its short arms matched its short legs but the flame came from the fire on its tail. Wolfy pulled out the Pokédex, thankful for its night vision setting, and pointed it at the Pokémon. _"Charmander the lizard Pokémon. The flame on its tail is an indicator of how healthy it is, the brighter it burns, the healthier it is. They are known to wander forests at night challenging bug and grass Pokémon to battles so they can make themselves stronger."_

"Char char," It said to Gible gesturing with its clawed hand that it wanted to fight. Gible instantly jumped off Wolfy's shoulder, accepting the challenge before Wolfy could say anything. Instantly Charmander let out a breath of hot air and red dancing embers that hurtled towards Gible who quickly dodged, side stepping the wave of heat. Gible ran forwards and used Scratch but the Charmander easily moved out of the way. Gible then let forth a flurry of Scratch and Sand Attacks at the Charmander, slowly becoming more and more riled as Charmander dodged every attack. Suddenly the blue glow appeared in Gible's stomach as he prepared to use Dragon Rage. "Stop!" Wolfy yelled in a hushed voice and both Gible and Charmander turned to face him, "You can't use Dragon Rage, you'll bring Team Granite straight to us."

"Gible!" He said flapping his arms in defiance, clearly upset at the prospect.

"Char, Char, Charmander?" Charmander asked Gible questioningly.

"Gible gib gib Gible," Gible responded in a grumble. They continued to talk to each other for a few minutes as Gible obviously explained to Charmander what they were doing. Suddenly Charmander started running off waving its arms around. Gible looked at Wolfy and ushered him along, following Charmander's tail flame. Wolfy followed at a jog so as to keep up with the two little Pokémon, Charmander darted this way and that deftly avoiding obstacles as Gible happily ran behind him crashing through the same obstacles. Eventually Charmander stopped and Gible ran into it knocking them both to the ground, Wolfy stopped next to them righting them both. Charmander pointed to the tree next to him, by the light of his tail Wolfy could see a small tree bearing berries that were small and red with green stalks.

"Are those Cherri berries Charmander?" Wolfy asked incredulously and the Pokémon crossed its arms and nodded with its eyes closed, looking proud of its self. Gible walked up next to it and mimicked the pose, acting like a younger brother would. "Thank you Charmander, you've made a big difference to Loca's Eevee."

Charmander stood a little taller at Wolfy's words; Gible tried to mimic this action too but fell over in the attempt but quickly righted himself when he noticed that Charmander didn't see him. It was only then that Wolfy realised his new problem, whilst following Charmander he had completely lost his sense of direction, he had no idea which way to go. "Gible can you follow our sent back to the tree?" Gible nodded vigorously and set off with his nose to the ground, Wolfy set off after him and Charmander followed too.

Before long they found themselves climbing back into the hollow of the tree trunk, Charmander climbing in after them. "Here, feed Elliot these," Wolfy said handing Loca a handful of Cheri berries, as she looked curiously at the Charmander as Gible sat down beside it, "this Pokémon helped us to find them, otherwise I would have been out there all night."

"Well thank you," Loca said gratefully, "I heard there was a bunch of Charmander and Charmeleon in this forest but I didn't think I'd see one."

She started feeding Elliot the Cheri berries whilst Wolfy served up the stew into five bowls and added a chunk of bread to each from his bag, giving the Pokémon a portion too. Charmander happily ate his portion quietly whilst Gible beside him ate the metal bowl too, Wolfy would have scolded him but he was too exhausted so he just slowly ate. Loca ate hers whilst Elliot nibbled the Cherri berries, by the time it had finished the last of them it looked much better if still a little weak. Wolfy looked at Charmander as he ate, the first thing the little Pokémon did was challenge Gible to a fight but as soon as it realised that a Pokémon was in trouble it helped out without having to be asked; it obviously had a good heart.

Once it had finished its bread and stew it leaned back contented, after a moment Wolfy asked it a question, "Charmander, how would you like to join us?"

"Char?" it said turning its head sideways in curiosity, not quite understanding what Wolfy meant.

"Come with us," Wolfy said rephrasing his offer, "I want to become a Dragon Tamer and defeat the Lillen League. I can see you're amazing in a fight, I could use your help."

Charmander thought a moment before nodding his agreement; Wolfy pulled out a Pokéball randomly and poked Charmander on the head with the circular button on the front. It cracked open and turned Charmander into a white light before sucking the light inside and closing. It was only once it was closed that he realised it was his father's Dusk ball; it beeped a few times before it emitted a kind of bong that signified a successful capture.

"That's not exactly how they teach you to catch Pokémon in Trainer School," Loca said smiling, "But what works, works."

Wolfy smiled at that before releasing Charmander from the Dusk ball, unlike Pokéballs when a Pokémon was released from a Dusk ball it was released as a shadow rather than a bright light. The shadow poured out of the ball until the general shape of Charmander was formed, it then exploded like smoke, leaving the real Charmander behind. Without a word, Charmander and Gible huddled up to Wolfy and all three fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Charmander use Fire Fang! Gible use Dig to dodge it!"

As Charmander charged forwards towards Gible its small fangs burst into flames, a second before it struck Gible dug underground and moved like a shark in water, dorsal fin above ground, avoiding the attack. "Gible, use Scratch as you come up under Charmander! Charmander try to dodge!"

Gible sprang out of the ground right where Charmander had been standing half a second before, his Scratch attacks on cutting the air in front of him. Wolfy had decided to do some training on the battlefield at the back of the Pokémon centre with his freshly restored Pokémon whilst the Fengrove Nurse Joy looked after Loca's Eevee; the little thing was tough and was quickly recovering under the Nurse's care.

Once the sun had come up that morning they had been able to make good time and arrive at the Pokémon centre a little before noon, the small village was full of friendly people who were especially interested in Pokémon trainers. Trainers were rare in Lillen, by the time people were old enough to go on a journey they generally had other commitments so never left on their journeys. Those who did go on journeys were often the point of admiration amongst those who wished they could have had their own journey.

"Well done guys, come and take a break," Wolfy shouted and the two Pokémon ran over happily. Wolfy could already see that Gible was getting stronger, both from practicing with Charmander and from battling in the forest the previous night. And now that he had learned to travel underground at speed, he was sure he'd be able to get stronger and stronger with ease. Charmander was already a strong Pokémon but it seemed to enjoy his practice bouts with the young dragon, he was very much the older brother to Gible as he helped train him. Wolfy pulled two cartons of berry juice out of his bag and gave them to his Pokémon; a woman who gave them directions to the Pokémon centre had forced both him and Loca to take a dozen cartons.

As they guzzled down the juice Loca and Nurse Joy came around the corner, Elliot was walking proudly just next to Loca's feet. "Hey Wolfy," Loca said as she sat down on the bench next to him, "Elliot is much better now, thank you again."

"Nothing to thank me for," Wolfy said smiling at her, "I wouldn't have just left you both. Nurse Joy, I need to ask you something."

"Ask away Mr Hero," she said with a teasing smile.

"Do you remember my brother Drake," he asked hoping beyond hope that she would remember even though it was over a year ago since he would have passed through, "Tall guy with black hair, had a Turtwig?"

"Oh I remember him yes," Nurse Joy replied with her usual beaming smile, Wolfy instantly became excited at the thought that he might now have a lead, "he came in here with his Turtwig and an injured Houndour that he had just caught, he had had to catch it so he could get it to me and save it. Your brother was a hero that day, guess it runs in the family."

"A Houndour," Wolfy said smiling, it was probably the same Houndour that Drake always played with in the forest when he was young, he had always been sneaking off to play with it, "Do you know where he went next? I know he wanted to challenge the gym leaders in Lillen but I don't know for sure which one he went to first."

"I don't know for sure but I would have thought he'd go to the gym in Naxren Town," she said holding her chin between her finger and thumb whilst she thought, "there isn't another gym for many miles in any direction from here but from there Sionik city is easy to reach and there is a gym there too."

Wolfy felt slightly reassured at that, he had come to the same conclusion and for the same reasons but there was still something uncertain about the whole thing; he just wish he knew for sure where his brother went. He didn't really know what he was going to say when he finally found Drake, all he knew was that he had to find him and make sure he was ok.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," Loca said whilst looking at Wolfy with a slightly worried voice, "me and Elliot owe you a lot."

"It's my pleasure," she replied with a characteristic smile before she walked back into the Pokémon centre.

After a moment more thought Wolfy rose to his feet only to find Loca pushing him back onto the bench next to Charmander and Gible. "I think you have some explaining to do," Loca said with her hands on her hips as she look at him sternly, "Why didn't you tell me you were looking for your brother? We've been travelling together for a day now and you don't tell me something as important as that?"

Wolfy was confused for a moment, he wasn't sure he fully understood why she was so upset; after all they had only just met. "Well, I guess it never came up that's all."

"Well now it has so spill!" she said even more sternly, he felt like he was back at Trainer School and the teacher was scolding him for getting a question wrong.

"Ok, ok just calm down," Wolfy said holding his hands out almost in self-defence, "The reason I wanted to go on a journey was to find my brother as well as to become a Dragon Tamer. Drake left on his journey almost a year ago, I was with him when he chose to take Turtwig on his journey to conquer the Lillen League.

"After a few weeks though he stopped contacting us," Wolfy continued, feeling he had to explain the whole thing or Loca may beat him with a stick, "No emails, no letters, no phone calls. He never came home to visit but mum just said he was probably too busy on his journey, wrapped up in training his Pokémon. But after three months even mum started to worry, she never said anything but I could see it on her face and in the way she kept glancing to the phone. She was all teary eyed when I left yesterday and that's not like her at all, so I decided I'd find my brother and make sure he was ok."

"Wow," Loca said looking a little taken-a-back, "You should have told me something like that Wolfy."

"Well you didn't need to know," he replied looking at the ground whilst his Pokémon finished their berry juice, they'd watched the whole exchange between the two, listening to every word.

"Well then it's decided," Loca said standing up straight and tall, "I'm going to help you find your brother!"

"What?"

"You helped me and Elliot when you didn't need to and here's my chance to pay you back," she replied as if it was obvious, "I won't leave you until we find your brother and bring him back to your family."

"Thank you Loca but don't you want to be in the Lillen League too?" he said feeling a bit awkward at her generosity.

"Of course I do but you're going to the gyms anyway aren't you?" she waited for him to nod before continuing, "You know, some of the gyms will only take on challengers in a two-on-two-battle so I needed a partner anyway. Plus you seem to know a lot about Pokémon, you can help me train to become better too."

Wolfy considered it for a moment, it was true that half the gyms in Lillen battle using multi-trainer rules, the gyms were trying to promote cooperation between trainers. Also he wouldn't have to travel alone, having someone to help him along the road would be useful. "Ok Loca, you got a deal."

"Great!" She said jumping in the air, Elliot imitating her, "So it's off to Naxren town!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Wolfy and Loca left Fengrove later that day, heading north over some grassy fields and hills, every step they took taking them closer to Naxren town and their first gym battle. Wolfy didn't know whether or not the Naxren gym fought under the multi-battle rules or not but he knew that he and Loca had to prepare just in case. As they walked Gible and Elliot played games of tag, chasing one and other across the field only to run straight back to them. Loca was smiling and sometimes even laughing at the two Pokémon, both were young and playful so they got into a lot of trouble. They had already disturbed a family of Rattata and a swarm of Ledyba as they ran to catch each other.

"Wolfy do you know what type of Pokémon that Naxren gym leader uses?" Loca said as they walked through the long grass of the fields.

"No all I know is that his name is Vinen," he replied remembering what he had heard some trainers discussing as they passed them in the Pokémon centre, "sounds like he'd tough though, his Pokémon are supposed to be super strong."

"Hmm, I guess we should really be training then huh?" she replied looking over at their Pokémon as they tumbled through the grass, "But I just can't bring myself to stop those two."

Wolfy laughed as Gible used Dig to hide from Elliot as they ran, "It'll take us a few days to reach Naxren Town, they can take the afternoon off surely?"

Loca smiled, glad that Wolfy agreed with her assessment of the two Pokémon's moods. They walked on watching the two have fun and occasionally battling the Pokémon they disturbed, the two of them working together meant that the wild Pokémon weren't much of a threat.

The sun started to set to their left, letting the tall grass cast long shadows over the ground and giving everything a red/ pinky tinge. The pink clouds sailed slowly across the sky above them as they made their way through the grass, trying to find a campsite to set up for the night. They soon found a circular area where the grass had been flattened down by previous campers, the long blades of grass lay flat against the ground.

"This will do," Wolfy said turning to Loca who instantly sat on the grass, Elliot quickly jumping into her lap so she could pet him, "I'll get some stew going."

They ate whilst they exchanged stories about their families and what Jhoto was like compared to Lillen, it turned out that not only were there really rare Pokémon in Jhoto but also a lot more trainers.

"I miss Jhoto," Loca said as she set down her empty bowl and went back to stroking Elliot, "The Pokémon there were really amazing, you can find some of the same ones here but loads that cant. I always wanted a cute little Wooper when I was there."

"You can find those here," Wolfy said nodding as he cleared away their bowls, washing them with a bit of water from his cantine. Gible sat on his shoulder watching the plates with a hungry look in his eyes, Wolfy was going to have to teach him the difference between food and what you eat it off of. "They're quite common nearer to the oceans, maybe you could catch one?"

"Maybe," she said looking down at the Pokémon in her lap, fiddling with his scarf, "We'll see, I need to try and catch a Pokémon first. We're going to need more Pokémon if we want to defeat the gym leaders."

Loca instantly jumped up scaring Elliot and Gible, both falling to the floor with a thump. "Well I think I should get started! Come on Elliot!"

"Loca, where are you going?" Wolfy asked picking up Gible as Loca walked off through the grass.

"To catch a Pokémon," she called over her shoulder as Elliot tried his best to keep up with her quick pace, "look after my stuff K?"

"She's definitely enthusiastic," Wolfy said to Gible, staring after her dumbfounded, "Well I guess we should get some rest, nothing to do now but wait."

He sat down on the flat grass and pulled out his Pokégear, he hadn't sent his mother a message the day before, with everything that had happened it just slipped his mind. He loaded up the email program and started writing.

_Hi mum,_

_Sorry I didn't write yesterday, so much crazy stuff was happening I didn't get a chance…_

Wolfy awoke the next morning to soft snoring a few feet from him as well as louder ones coming from Gible. Loca must have returned whilst they slept and decided not to wake them, Elliot was sleeping soundly in her arms with only his head poking out of her green sleeping bag. Wolfy quietly tidied away his sleeping bag and got dressed without waking anyone, he pulled a couple of travelling biscuits out of his bag and nibbled on them as he looked around him for something to do. He sat down, leaning on his bag as he pulled out his Pokégear to check whether or not his mum had replied. When it loaded he found he had two new emails, one from his mother and the other from Ray. His mother's email said:

_Dear Wolfy_

_It sounds like you handled yourself admirably, you're so much like your father diving head first into trouble to help someone else. I'm glad you're ok but you could have been hurt so please be careful J_

_So Professor Yew gave you a Gible? Ray said it's even a shiny one, you better be careful with him in case Team Granite decide they want to try and capture him again. But I'm really glad for you son, Gible sounds like a perfect partner for an aspiring Dragon Tamer._

_Call me and your brother when you get to the Pokémon centre in Naxren Town, we'd really like to see you, Gible and Charmander. _

_Missing you,_

_Mum_

_P.S the Gym Leader in Naxren town does three on three single battles so go get another Pokémon J_

Wolfy smiled at his mother's message, she had become such a worrier since Drake stopped calling, the old mum wouldn't have kept reminding him to be so careful. He then read his brother's message:

_Wolfy,_

_Since when do you just message mum? Where the love bro?_

_Anyway she said you caught a Charmander, that's awesome! I've been up all night trying to decide what Pokémon I'm going to capture with the Pokéball you gave me, I was thinking a Rhyperior or a Gengar but they don't turn up much around here do they? There are a group of Togetic flying around in the woods near our house, I wonder if there's a Togepi I could catch?_

_Anyway give me an update whenever you catch a new Pokémon or when something exciting happens_

_Don't forget us_

_Ray_

Wolfy couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Ray with a Rhyperior or being chase by a Gengar but he could see him with a Togepi, it would be a good Pokémon for a young Breeder. Plus it was also said that Togepi and Togetic could make people happy, their mum could probably do with that around. Wolfy quickly replied to Ray suggesting that Togepi would be the best option and a promise to keep him updated on his journey.

"Oh god," Loca grumbled looking at him from her sleeping bag whilst Gible continued to snore, "You're a morning person aren't you?"

"A bit," he said chuckling even more, "I take it you're not then?"

"Of course not," she replied sitting up, still surrounded in sleeping bag, she looked almost like a strange Metapod, "sleep is good, I like sleep."

Wolfy smiled as she tried to escape from her green prison without dropping Elliot, the sight was a lot of entertainment. She made so much noise during her escape that some nearby Pidgey scattered in every direction but still Gible continued to snore, laying on his back with his mouth agape. Wolfy walked over and shook him awake, he looked around for a moment completely dazed before he fell back asleep again.

"So did you catch anything good last night?" Wolfy said picking up his sleeping Gible and his bag as they prepared to leave.

"I caught two," she replied beaming with pride, "it took a few attempts but they're both mine now."

"Looks like our family is getting bigger," Wolfy said smiling too as they started to trek through the grass again, headed for Naxren Town once more, "So what did you catch?"

Loca opened her mouth about to reply but seemed to think better of it and stopped, a suspicious smile crept across her lips before she finally spoke, "Catch another Pokémon today and I'll show you, let's battle!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I challenge you!" Wolfy heard spoken calmly but with such confidence it was almost frightening. He and Loca both turned to see a tall man in a long, black coat standing on the path behind them. His long blue fringe cut across his face, obscuring one of his eyes. He wore jeans and a grey t-shirt under his jacket but Wolfy couldn't see any signs of a backpack or any travel items, the mystery trainer was obviously local.

They had only been walking for a couple hours but had finally escaped the clutches of the long grass and found a path headed to Naxren Town. Wolfy had been keeping his eyes out for a third Pokémon but had yet to see anything he wanted to train. Loca kept poking fun at him saying he was being picky and should just catch anything; she was impatient to battle him and try out her new Pokémon.

"Sure, why not," Wolfy replied setting down his bag at the edge of the dirt path, Gible instantly jumped down and stood next to him eagerly.

"Hey!" Loca said slapping his arm, "You're supposed to be finding a third Pokémon so you can battle me!"

"You only have two Pokémon?" the mystery trainer laughed loudly at him, "A fresh one huh? No matter, a battle's a battle!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Wolfy called back, there was something about this guy that he didn't like, he seemed too much of a brute to train Pokémon.

"Fine, two on two, first trainer to knock out both of the other's Pokémon wins!" he called as he stepped back to create enough space to battle in, "Go Pawniard!"

The trainer threw out his Pokéball and once the white light cleared there was a small Pokémon stood before them, it was just under two feet tall and only a little smaller than Gible. It was almost human shape except for its overly large head and the four blades that stuck out of its black torso. Its red and black head had another blade protruding from the centre whilst a single thinner blade stuck out from the end of its red arms instead of hands. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to find out what he was up against. _Pawniard, the Sharp Blade Pokémon. Ignoring their injuries, groups of them stick the blades, which comprise their bodies, into larger enemies. If their blades dull they sharpen them on rocks by the river. _

"Ok, it's a Steel and Dark type so you're up Gible!" Wolfy said turning to his partner whilst Loca moved to the edge of the path. Gible's Dig attack would be super effective against a steel type like Pawniard; he had to be careful to avoid the blades as much as possible however.

"I move first kid," the trainer called, "Pawniard, use Metal Claw!"

Instantly the Pawniard sprinted towards Gible, the blades on its arms began to glow white as it got closer. "Gible, Dig!" Wolfy called, he was impressed at how quickly Gible managed to dig through the ground, he could see why Gible was called the Land Shark Pokémon. Gible circled around Pawniard a few times before coming back up underneath it, knocking it tumbling through the air. Pawniard fell to the ground with a massive thump that shook the ground; it was a heavy Pokémon meaning they'd dealt it a lot of damage.

"Pawniard get up you weakling!" the trainer called to his Pokémon as it tried to regain its footing, "Now use Metal Claw again but don't miss or else!"

"Hey," Wolfy shouted to the trainer, "Your Pawniard is trying its best, take it easy!"

"Shut up kid!" the trainer yelled harshly, "Go, use Metal Claw again!"

Gible dug underground again to dodge without having to be told, this angered the trainer even further. Wolfy couldn't understand why he was pushing his Pokémon around like that; couldn't he see that Pawniard was trying its hardest?

Gible emerged behind Pawniard, poking its head above ground. "Gible use Dragon Rage!" The blue glow appeared again before the little dragon released all the energy at Pawniard. The ball rose and fell in an arc, impacting the ground before it reached Pawniard but it was still caught in the edges of the blast. Pawniard fell back unconscious.

"Damn you, you useless excuse for a Pokémon!" the mysterious challenger roared at his unconscious Pawniard before he returned it to its Pokéball.

"Chill out!" Wolfy called as he started to become angry at how the trainer treated his Pokémon with such disrespect, "If you would just-"

"Shut it!" he shouted interrupting Wolfy mid-sentence, "I will use my Pokémon how I see fit!"

"Wow, what an idiot," Loca said just loud enough for Wolfy to hear. Wolfy didn't smile, this man's behaviour was unacceptable, and where did he get off treating Pokémon like that?

"Go Riolu!" he yelled as his second Pokémon appeared in the flash of the Pokéball. Riolu was a short, blue and black Pokémon that seemed almost like a dog standing up. A black strip of fur ran from one floppy black ear to the other across its face, surrounding its kind eyes in a way that almost looked like a mask. Its blue tail was long and had a slight crook at the end. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to find out more about it. _Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. It uses the power of Aura, which changes with emotion, to communicate with other Pokémon. Its powerful arms and legs give it a strong fighting ability._

"Gible come back," Wolfy called, he didn't want to risk Gible against such a strong looking Pokémon, "Go Charmander!"

The black shadow from Charmander's Dusk ball cleared to reveal the orange lizard, as soon as he saw his opponent he flexed his muscles and his tail flame roared stronger in determination. As soon as Riolu saw the flames Wolfy felt a shock go through his body, an image appeared in his mind of a burning house. He felt trapped, surrounded by the flames with no escape. It was over as quick as it had started but it left Wolfy shocked, what was that?

"Are you ok Wolfy?" Loca asked looking at him concerned.

"Yeah I think so," Wolfy said taking a few steadying breaths, the image in his mind was gone but the fear was lingering. He didn't know where that image had come from but before he could think further the trainers voice broke through.

"Riolu stand and fight!" he roared as Riolu cowered back slightly, Charmander looked confused at the odd behaviour of both Pokémon and trainer, "Don't be a coward!"

Riolu turned to see the rage on its trainer's face and its fear got stronger. Another shock passed through Wolfy's every muscle, causing him to fall to one knee. Another image passed through his mind, a Flamethrower coming from the trainers Camerupt. Wolfy could feel the heat of the flames as they burned his skin, the fear of knowing he would have to be attacked like that over and over again.

"Stop!" Wolfy roared dispelling the memory; he knew now where it was coming from. The little Riolu was communicating with Wolfy through its aura, without meaning to show him, it had shown Wolfy the memories which caused it so much fear. "Why do you make Riolu get hit by Camerupt's flamethrower? Are you trying to toughen it up? It's just cruel!"

"Been spying on our training sessions have you?" the trainer asked angrily, "How I train my Pokémon is none of your business kid, stay out of it! Riolu use Force Palm on Charmander!"

Riolu looked back to Charmander and the image of the burning house passed through Wolfy's mind once more. The Riolu must have been trapped in a burning building when it was younger; it had a phobia of fire. The trainer couldn't see, or wouldn't see, that Riolu was too scared of Charmander's tail flame to move.

"I said attack!" the trainer yelled at Riolu, pulling his hand back as if to slap the Pokémon with the back of his hand. Wolfy couldn't think of anything, all he saw and all he felt was Riolu's fear. Before he knew what he was doing he tackled the trainer, knocking both of them from their feet. They rolled for a few feet before they came to a stop, Wolfy jumped to his feet and braced himself for the trainer's counter attack. Wolfy felt Riolu's confusion at his kindness, he'd been with the trainer for a long time and had never been shown such kindness from a human before.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the trainer roared angrier than ever, "I told you not to interfere with my Pokémon!" Charmander ran in front of his trainer, steadying himself so he was ready to defend him. In that moment Wolfy felt Riolu's comprehension that his trainer was a bad person, it was clear to him in the way Wolfy's Charmander protected him that they cared about each other greatly. Loca quickly stepped up to the side and a little behind Wolfy, Elliot in front of her growling at the brute.

"I won't let you hurt Riolu or any other Pokémon!" Wolfy yelled at him as he rose to his feet.

"Char-Char- Charmander-Char!" Charmander growled his agreement as Elliot yapped and growled too. Gible joined in the growling weakly but it sounded closer to a purr than a growl.

"It's not fair on the Pokémon to treat them like that," Loca called with a little waver in her voice, "Pokémon are our friends, we don't hurt our friends!"

Wolfy felt a flush of power run through him as Riolu heard their words and read their auras, he saw the truth; he didn't need to be bullied anymore. He had always assumed that that was how all humans treated Pokémon; he never thought that humans could be friends with Pokémon or that a human would risk themselves to protect him.

The trainer looked around at the five that stood before him, ready to fight if they had to. He was clearly annoyed at the fact he was outnumbered but managed to compose himself. "I was going to let the little runt go anyway, he's too weak to be of any use."

With that the trainer held out Riolu's Pokéball and held down the button on the front, after a few seconds a white light appeared around Riolu before dissipating in a shower of multi-coloured sparks. Riolu was free now. The trainer then turned around and stalked off trying to appear as though he had won anyway.

Once he was out of sight they all relaxed and turned to Riolu, Gible Jumped down from Wolfy's shoulders and sauntered up to Riolu. He grabbed his and started dancing around, Riolu stood there awkwardly not sure what to do. Elliot walked over and greeted Riolu with a few happy yaps before Gible released Riolu and started chasing Elliot again. Riolu watched the two playing obviously not knowing what to make of the strange actions of the two Pokémon. Charmander ran over to Riolu but stopped as soon as he saw Riolu was about to bolt, his whole body drooped as he realised Riolu was still afraid of his flame.

"Charmander thank you for your help, return," Wolfy said as a red beam shot out of the Dusk ball, engulfing Charmander in a red light before drawing him back into the ball. He then turned to Loca, "Thank you for backing me up, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," she replied with a smile before the both turned back to Riolu who was still standing there awkwardly, "How did you know all that stuff about him being afraid of fire?"

"He told me," Wolfy said honestly, "Not on purpose, I don't think but somehow I saw some of his memories. He was trapped in a burning building once, he was scared and alone and the flames surrounded him. He thought he was going to die."

"Riolu's communicate through auras right?" Loca said crossing her arms in thought, "Maybe your aura is compatible with Riolu's or something and that's how you could see his memories?"

"Maybe," Wolfy said before dropping to one knee so he could speak to Riolu properly, "You don't have to be afraid, you're free now."

"Ri?" Riolu said and another image came to Wolfy's mind, the trainer about to slap him and Wolfy tackling the trainer.

"I couldn't let him hurt you," Wolfy replied feeling the question behind the picture, "No trainer should ever hurt their Pokémon. Anyway you don't have to be afraid of him, he can't hurt you anymore."

Riolu took a moment to comprehend what Wolfy said before his eyes became watery, soon tears dampened the black fur around his eyes and it hugged Wolfy's leg. Wolfy was shocked at the action, as the little Pokémon bawled against his jeans Wolfy felt Riolu's relief and gratitude and happiness all mix together. Wolfy smiled and hugged the Pokémon back, this made him cry harder. The little Pokémon had never been shown such kindness and was feeling overwhelmed, he couldn't help it.

Gible and Elliot continued to run around them chasing one and other, too caught up in their game to see what was going on between them. After a minute Loca finally spoke softly, "I think Riolu might want to go with you Wolfy."

Both Pokémon and human raised their heads to look at Loca, "What?" Wolfy asked dumbfounded, it had only just gained its freedom; surely it wouldn't want to be caught again?

"Think about it," she said as if it was obvious, "It's crying in your arms even though it must surely not trust humans, you can see its memories because your auras are similar, you just saved it from being beaten. Do you not think it might want to stay with you?"

Wolfy looked back to Riolu, through his tears he could see determination in his eyes, "Do you want to come with us?" Riolu eyed Charmander's Dusk ball wearily before looking in Wolfy's eyes and nodding. They both smiled at each other, Wolfy pulled out a Pokéball and offered it to Riolu. The Pokémon tapped the button with his paw and became engulfed in white light as the ball opened, drawing in the light. It only beeped once before the bong confirmed that Riolu was caught.

"Will you ever catch a Pokémon like a normal trainer?" Loca asked almost to herself before they both started walking north again. Naxren Gym was still waiting for their challenges, every step bringing them closer to finding Drake and entering the Lillen League.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They found a clearing near to the path where they could camp as the last rays of sunlight dipped beyond the horizon, a circle of stones had been left by the last trainers to use as a fire pit. Wolfy released Riolu and Charmander; together with Gible they travelled back and forth from the nearby forest to collect fire wood. Riolu was able to carry much larger logs than the other two's small arms could manage so Charmander and Gible collected the kindling. Riolu seemed to be keeping himself separate from the other two, not even cracking a smile as Gible copied Charmander's movements often ending in him falling over.

Soon they were all sat around the fire, Loca stroking Elliot as she always did whilst Charmander and Gible played together, running and laughing. All the while Riolu sat at Wolfy's back, shielded from the flames that terrified him so much. They all ate Wolfy's cooking; all the Pokémon except Riolu came back for seconds as did Loca, Gible even managed thirds before he lay down contentedly fell asleep. Charmander curled up next to the fire, much closer than Wolfy would have gotten but the reason soon became clear when he laid his tail in the flames. Riolu curled up next to Wolfy and quickly fell asleep.

"Wolfy," Loca said as she looked at Elliot asleep in her lap, "What do you think Pokémon dream about?"

"In Gible's case I'd say food probably," he replied in a hushed voice causing both of them to smile, "I don't know in all honesty." He looked into the flames for a moment, lost in thought, before he looked to Riolu. He was sleeping if fitfully, he twitched and screwed up his eyes as if having a bad dream. Wolfy touched his arm and felt the shock go through his body again, an image passed into his mind. It was dark and he was surrounded by flames again, fire type Pokémon walked through the flames towards him. Charmander, Typhlosion, Infernape, Magmortar, Heatran, Rapidash, Magcargo, Houndoom, Darmanitan, all led by a red-eyed Camerupt. He felt Riolu's terror as the Pokémon closed in around him, flames broiling around them as they unleashed fire type attacks at him.

Riolu's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet looking for danger, he was wild with fear. The moment Riolu spotted the camp fire its eyes widened before he screwed them up in anger. A second later water appeared around Riolu's fist, like waves crashing around his closed paw, quicker than a flash he punched the ground in front him. Half a second later a column of water erupted from the ground like a geyser, the crack of the earth and the roar of the torrent awoke every one of the Pokémon. Gible and Charmander instantly ran to Wolfy's side whilst Loca and Elliot sprang to their feet, trying to move away from the camp fire. Before they could make it very far another torrent of water burst from the ground in front of them, then another next to Wolfy and another on the far side of the clearing. The largest column burst forth from under the campfire, instantly extinguishing the flames and plunging them all into relative darkness, Charmander's tail flame was their only light.

Wolfy dived towards Riolu only to be struck by another column of water, sending him sprawling backwards. Gible and Charmander ran to Wolfy's side, both tugging on his clothes trying to get him to move. He rose to his feet and darted between the columns of raging water, Riolu was still bent on one knee with the water crashing over his paw, his eyes were closed and his face was distorted with panic and angry fear. Wolfy made one last dive, crashing into Riolu. His fist came away from the ground and the columns of water stopped, Riolu instantly tried to squirm free of Wolfy's arms, still in a panic. "Riolu! Calm down, it's me!" he called but the Pokémon didn't hear Wolfy's pleas, it was shaking its head and hitting Wolfy's stomach repeatedly. Riolu then pulled back and struck Wolfy with an open palm straight to his chest. Pain coursed through his body and he couldn't manage to pull in a breath, unconsciousness threatened to take him.

Wolfy fell back as he fought to remain awake, to keep away the darkness. Time seemed to slow down as he impacted the ground but he kept his eyes of the terrified Pokémon, confusion was clear in his eyes quickly followed by comprehension and worry as the Pokémon dived on him. Riolu was ok, that's all that mattered as Wolfy finally gave in to the darkness.

* * *

Wolfy awoke to find Riolu, Gible and Loca standing over him, looking with worried eyes at him. Groggily he started to remember what had happened, about Riolu's panic attack and the columns of water, the Force Palm that had left him gasping for breath.

"Wolfy!" Loca gasped relieved, "Wolfy are you ok? You've been out for about ten minutes."

Wolfy groaned as he sat up, the ground around them was muddy and broken, huge cracks in the earth were left wide open and lit by the electric lamp that Loca had set up next to them. Gible jumped into his lap and started dancing around with happiness, obviously glad Wolfy was awake. Riolu stood looking at the ground; Wolfy didn't even need their connection to tell him how guilty the Pokémon felt. Wolfy croaked as he tried to reassure Riolu, the words stuck in his throat. Instead Wolfy focused on the feeling of relief that Riolu was ok and reached out to touch him, at first the blue Pokémon flinched away from the contact before finally laying his paw in Wolfy's palm. He could see the shock on Riolu's face as their auras touched and he felt what Wolfy was feeling. Instantly Riolu hugged him again.

"I guess that means you're ok?" Loca said watching the exchange a little confused.

"I'm fine," Wolfy said, his voice breaking a little but he pushed through it, "Riolu's got one hell of a Force Palm."

"You're crazy you know that?" Loca said angrily to Wolfy, "You could've been hurt, what were you thinking?"

"Riolu had been having a bad dream," he explained whilst hugging Riolu and Gible, "He was being attacked by fire type Pokémon and hadn't realised it was a dream. He'd used that attack in self-defence, not realising that there wasn't anything to defend against."

"Must have been one hell of a nightmare," Loca said looking at Riolu with a sadness in her eyes, "Since when can a Riolu learn Water Pledge anyway?"

"I dunno," Wolfy replied stroking Riolu's fur to try to reassure it, "maybe he learned a water move to defend himself against fire types? Speaking of fire types where is Charmander?"

"I had to put him away in his Dusk ball," Loca said handing him the ball, "If I didn't I think Riolu would have bolted."

"Thank you for looking after them and me Loca," Wolfy said smiling and laying back down, "I really appreciate it."

"Well I guess we found out what Riolu dreams about at least," she replied as she sat down, "I thought they just dreamed of battling and food. Pokémon are so much… more than I realised before I started this journey, they have such different personalities just like people. I suppose what they say is true, no two Pokémon are alike."

Wolfy nodded as he looked up at the starry sky trying to see if he could pick out the constellations, he found the Starmie constellation easy enough because it was the northern most star group. After a time he spotted the Ursaring constellation and the Gyarados, Remoraid and Oshawott trio. Soon he felt Riolu's breathing even and calm as he drifted back into a more restful sleep, a few minutes later Gible's snoring broke the silence making Loca twitch in her sleep before relaxing again.

In that moment a thought occurred to him, he was two days away from his first gym battle and hopefully his second clue to find his brother. He lay there trying to imagine what a gym battle would be like; he pictured roaring crowds, a large stadium with fireworks exploding over the open-top arena. He imagined what combinations he could use as well as what strategies to outwit his opponent although he quickly realised that was useless unless he knew his opponent's strategy. Wolfy slipped into the undying dream world as he imagined defeating the Elite Four after he won the Lillen League.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"It's time Wolfy," Loca said turning to face him after she finished her lunch, "With all the craziness yesterday we never had our battle. No more excuses, let's see who's stronger!"

"You're on!" Wolfy said throwing everything back into his bag rather than packing it properly like he otherwise would, he ran to the other end of the clearing with Gible hanging on tightly to his shoulder, "Three on three?"

"You got it," Loca said with Elliot at her side, his paws were spread in a defensive stance, eager to go, "both call our Pokémon together! On three!"

Wolfy felt the adrenaline flood his veins as he got himself pumped for their battle, he knew who he would pick first. He had to admit that Loca had the advantage though as she had seen all of his Pokémon battle or train whilst he didn't even know who her two new Pokémon were. "One!"

The grass flapped around in the wind as the boughs of the trees next to the path flexed under the force, the sun beat down on the back of Wolfy's neck. This was a good day for a battle. "Two!"

Wolfy kept his hand on the inside of his jacket, clutching the ball of the Pokémon he'd chosen to go first, he had the utmost confidence in him. This would be the biggest battle Wolfy and his Pokémon had been in to date and good training for their gym battle the next day. It was time to prove himself. "Three!"

"Go Charmander!"

"Sasha, I choose you!"

Charmander burst forth from the shadow cast by the Dusk ball his father had given him; he wouldn't let his father down. Once the white light of Loca's Pokéball cleared a small blue bird was left behind, its wings looked like clouds or cotton wool. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to check the information on Swablu whilst Loca used hers to check Charmander's. _Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon. For some reason, Swablu often land on people's heads and pretend to be a hat. They cannot relax unless in a clean environment for they do not want dirt on their fluffy white wings._

"So we have to battle a hat?" Wolfy asked Charmander who shrugged before turning back to Swablu.

"Don't underestimate us Wolfy!" Loca called across the battlefield as Sasha landed on her head and wrapped its wings around itself.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied smiling, "Lady's first!"

"Sasha, Sing!"

Instantly Swablu started to sing a lullaby-like song, it was very beautiful to hear and before he knew it Charmander was swaying along with the tune. "Charmander! Snap out of it!" Wolfy called but the little lizard didn't seem able to hear him, soon after Charmander fell to the ground asleep. "Charmander, wake up!"

"Now Sasha, use Twister!" Loca called and Sasha took flight into the sky. She quickly flew back down close to the ground and began to fly in a circle, as the circle got smaller and faster a small tornado formed a dozen feet high. Sasha broke away from the Twister and it started to move towards Charmander who was still fast asleep, unable to wake up.

"Charmander, you have to move now!"

Too late, the tornado lifted Charmander and started throwing it around in the storm, Wolfy heard Charmander's cries as it was spun around and around before finally being sent tumbling across the ground. Charmander rose to its feet looking angry as the Twister dissipated.

"Not bad at all," Wolfy called to Loca impressed with her tactics, Twister takes a while to build up so she had to be sure Charmander wouldn't attack Sasha while she charged it up, that's why she used Sing to send him to sleep first.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" she called back whilst Swablu circled around the battlefield, soaring through the air at great speed.

"Charmander, Ember!" The little Pokémon sent out a blaze of hot air and orange embers into the air in front of Sasha but she deftly dodged the attack by twisting through the air, "Use Ember again but jump and spin as you do it!"

Without pause the little Pokémon did as it was asked, releasing more hot embers as it pan and jumped. The effect spread out Ember's effect meaning Sasha couldn't dodge, she wailed as her fluffy wings were scorched. She landed on the ground, gracefully but she was obviously burnt. "Now Charmander, Fire Fang!" He leapt towards Sasha, his little fangs ablaze, not letting her have time to prepare.

"Quick Sasha, use Cotton Guard!" The wool of Sasha's wings expanded and spread around her, the fluff creating a thick wall between Sasha and Charmander. The Fire Fang burned through a patch of the Cotton Guard but wasn't able to break through, he bounced off the cotton wall and fell backwards. "Sasha use Secret Power!"

Instantly Sasha started to glow green and all the grass blades around them pointed towards her, the green light burst forth from her in a wave striking Charmander with a lot of power, sending him rolling again. Charmander managed to get up but he did so slowly, the battle was obviously taking its toll on him but Sasha didn't seem to be badly affected apart from the burn on her wing. Wolfy had to think of something and quickly. "Charmander use Ember again!"

"Air Cutter!"

Charmander's Ember collided with the blades of air caused by Air cutter, the blades sliced clean through the attack and continued to hit Charmander. He fell to one knee as he struggled to keep going.

Suddenly Charmander's tail flame burst into a new level of intensity, it grew to five times bigger than it had been in an instant, now bigger than Charmander himself. As his tail flame gre Charmander seemed to find new strength, he was still hurt badly but the strength that filled him not was enough to keep him strong. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex and found that it was Charmander's ability Blaze; it made all his fire-type attack stronger when he was near the limits. Charmander then let forth a blast of flames, they travelled outwards from him in all direction like an explosion of fire. The flames charred the ground around him as well as a portion of the tree above him. The flames hit Sasha who was sent flying into Loca, both sprawled on the ground.

"That was Inferno!" Loca called as she returned Sasha to her Pokéball, unconscious, "What power!"

"Brilliant Charmander!" Wolfy cried but Charmander seemed unable to hear him, he just stared intensely ahead, waiting for his next opponent. When Blaze was activated it seemed Charmander wasn't his usual self, he was all or nothing.

"Fine, go Elliot!" Loca said looking down to her fluffy Eevee, he ran forward and took his defensive stance again.

"Charmander use-" before Wolfy could complete the command, Charmander had ran forwards and used Fire Fang. The flames broiled in his whole mouth now rather than just on the fangs.

"Elliot, dodge it and use Take Down!" Elliot lithely side-stepped Charmander before charging into him so fast that he was a blur, the attack slammed into the side of Charmander so hard that he was unconscious before he hit the floor.

"Charmander return!" Wolfy called, using the red beam to return Charmander to the Dusk ball. Elliot was fast, Wolfy would have to be clever. "You're up Gible!"

Gible happily waddled forwards, eager to battle. "Gible Dig!" instantly the land shark was tearing through the earth as quick as if it were water, he started circling Elliot with his dorsal fin above ground.

"Elliot, use Bite on Gible's fin!" Loca called pointing to the moving triangle of blue flesh. Elliot ran over to the fin and bite it with glowing teeth, Gible emerged from the ground and started running around madly trying to shake off Elliot but the little Pokémon would not concede.

"Gible, use Sand Attack straight up and jump!" Wolfy called, with tears in his eyes Gible loyally obeyed. As he jumped Elliot was wrenched upwards causing him to open his eyes wide in shock, as they passed through the sand that Gible had thrown up some of it went in Elliot's eyes making him let go of Gible's dorsal fin. "Now, Dragon Rage!"

"Move away Elliot!" the moment the little Eevee landed it quickly moved away with unbelievable speed, Gible tried to compensate and aim Dragon Rage at Elliot but as always the moment he released the power it plummeted to the ground. The blast wave hit Gible, throwing him back to Wolfy's arms and leaving him unconscious.

Wolfy held Gible under one arm whilst he retrieved his last Pokéball, "Go, Riolu!" Riolu burst out of his ball and emerged standing confidently with his arms crossed and eyes closed. This was his last chance but he had to defeat Loca's two Pokémon on his own, it was a tall order. He laid Gible on the ground before turning back to the battle.

"Elliot use Quick Attack!" Elliot began to run even faster, his little legs were a blur as they propelled him forwards towards Riolu.

"Riolu use Force Palm," Wolfy called. Riolu didn't move as Elliot approached, he didn't even open his eyes. For a moment Wolfy thought he was going to ignore the command but as Elliot made his final lunge Riolu attacked. His open palmed strike was so quick that Wolfy couldn't even see it, the combined force of the two attacks left Elliot rolling across the charred grass until he stopped at Loca's feet.

"Elliot, no!" Loca yelled picking up the unconscious Pokémon and wiping away the dirt from his fur and scarf. Gently she placed him on a clean patch of grass next to her before she straightened up again, "Riolu is quick and powerful, I don't need to read auras to tell he'd very confident but you still have to beat my last Pokémon."

"Riolu can do it," Wolfy called and smiled to his Pokémon, "I believe in him." There was the faintest hint of a smile on Riolu's lips but he nodded his thanks for Wolfy's belief in him.

"Go Marvin!" The normal white flash of the Pokéball cleared to reveal a small sheep with an orb on the end of its tail. Its blue face and legs were surrounded in a thick layer of yellow wool; it had a yellow and black striped cone on either side of its head like strange ears. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to check it out. _Mareep, the Wool Pokémon. When Mareep becomes charged with electricity its wool will grow larger and the orb on its tail will start to glow. Touching the wool when it is charged can cause static shocks._

An electric type, Wolfy had never battled an electric type before. From what the Pokédex said he would have to avoid Riolu touching its wool but what moves did he have that wouldn't touch it? He used the Pokédex to check what moves Riolu knew; Force Palm, Water Pledge and Quick Attack. That left only Water pledge that would avoid physical contact unless Wolfy was clever.

"Marvin use Cotton Spore!" Loca called, Mareep's body began to shake until lumps of wool flew off of the Pokémon and attached themselves to Riolu. He tried to wipe the spores away but they just stuck to his paw instead, more and more spores attached themselves to Riolu.

"Water Pledge!" Riolu took a moment to focus before the torrent of water surrounded his fist, he slammed it into the ground. Columns of water burst out of the ground all around, the water soaking the spores and causing them to fall to the ground. Another hit Marvin, soaking the Pokémon and causing damage.

"Marvin, use Spark!" Marvin was engulfed in blue electricity as it charged forward at Riolu. Riolu tried to get up and move but one of the spores on his arm had stuck to his leg as well, he had to force the two limbs apart, slowing him down. He narrowly managed to avoid the attack but Marvin was behind him and the spores were sticking to each other. "Marvin, Cotton Spore again!"

More spores poured forth and attached themselves to Riolu again, he was now covered by them on at least half of his body and was as good as unable to move, he only had one arm free. Riolu had lost his cool; he was no longer in control of the battle. "Riolu stay calm, wait for the right moment!"

"Use Spark again!" Loca called and Marvin charged forwards once more.

"Now Force Palm to Marvin's head!" The impact hurt Riolu but it hurt Mareep more, the Pokémon was stopped dead even as the electricity tore up Riolu's arm. Marvin jumped back and waited for the next command.

"Marvin use Electro Ball!" Loca ordered in desperation, she was really getting into the battle and didn't want to lose, Wolfy didn't either.

"Water Pledge!" Riolu's fist contacted the ground as Marvin whipped its tail, launching the ball of electricity it had been building around the orb on its tail. Electro Ball was an attack that did more damage the quicker the user is than the target, since Riolu was almost immobile the attack was going to be devastating. Riolu had put everything he had left into the Water Pledge; the torrents were wider and more powerful than any Wolfy had yet seen. The Electro Ball tore through the geysers on its way to Riolu even as Marvin was sent flying into the air by the most powerful column of water yet. Riolu was hit by the attack, it was so powerful it destroyed all the cotton spores and sent Riolu crashing into Wolfy, both hitting the ground hard. Marvin landed a few feet in front of Loca, the impact shook the ground.

There was silence for a moment as they waited to see if either Pokémon were able to go on, the moment stretched out into an eternity. The intense suspense was killing them both.

Simultaneously Riolu and Marvin weakly rose to their feet, Riolu tried to take a step forwards but collapsed to one knee, quickly he picked himself up so he could continue. Wolfy reached out and put a hand on his Pokémon's shoulder.

"Stop Riolu, I don't want you to get hurt," he said smiling, "You battled hard, I'm so proud of you." He looked up to see Loca on her knees next to Marvin, trying to help it to stand easier. "How about we call it a draw?" he called to her.

"Deal!" she called back and hugged Marvin before returning him to his Pokéball.

Wolfy smiled at Riolu and touched his arm to use his aura, showing Riolu how proud and happy he was with how determined and strong he was. Riolu smiled seeing that Wolfy's words were true before he allowed himself to collapse in his arms, Wolfy returned him to his Pokéball before he walked over to pick up Gible. Loca met him there with Elliot groggily awake in her arms.

"That was amazing," she said with a huge smile, "but I think we need to get these guys to a Pokémon centre, maybe we got a little too into it you know?"

"Yeah we did," Wolfy agreed looking at Gible as he slowly came around, "From now on let's take it easy in practice battles."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"So this is Naxren Town," Loca said looking around at all the buildings, very few were over two stories. Although the town seemed quite large as they walked down one of the streets there were very few people to be seen, Wolfy had been hoping to ask someone for directions to the Pokémon centre, "It's quieter than I thought it would be."

"Yeah it is," Wolfy replied searching around for some sign of people; there was nobody on the paths, no cars on the roads, even the shops were closed. He finally resigned himself to opening his Pokégear and using the map function to find out how to get to the Pokémon centre. They followed the directions and quickly found the Pokémon centre a couple of streets away.

They entered to find an exhausted looking Nurse Joy sat behind the desk, her shoulders were drooped and she had bags under her eyes. "Good morning," she said yawning, "How can I help you? Need your Pokémon fixed up before the tournament?"

"Tournament?" Wolfy asked excited, "What tournament?"

"The Annual Naxren Tag-Team tournament of course," the nurse replied as she took both of their Pokémon to the back room, Gible waving from his tray. Once she returned from the room she continued to speak, "Every year, trainer teams from all over Lillen arrive to enter the tournament; they come and prove their ability to work in a team. I've been working through the night to fix all of their Pokémon."

"Actually we're just here to challenge the gym," Loca said leaning against the counter, "can you give us directions?"

"Of course I can but it won't do you any good," Nurse Joy said with another yawn, "The Gym Leader Vinen hosts the tournament, the gym will be closed until it's finished."

Loca looked to Wolfy a little disappointed, however he was a little happy at the prospect, "Why don't we enter the tournament too Loca? We could do with the training before our gym battles."

She was obviously hesitant, she stewed it over for a while until Nurse Joy broke through her thoughts, "Did I mention that the winners get a Pokémon egg each?" Instantly Loca brightened up and was nearly running out of the centre a few minutes later after Nurse Joy had given them back their refreshed Pokémon and directions to the stadium.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Wolfy called from a few paces behind as he ran to keep up, Loca was full on sprinting now, rushing through the deserted streets.

"Didn't you hear Nurse Joy?" she yelled back without breaking stride, "We only have an hour left before they close registration for the tournament."

"But the stadium is five minutes away," he shouted but she didn't slow her pace, "You must really want that egg huh?"

"Don't you?" she replied as she turned a corner around a Pokémart, "The moment of excitement when you finally discover what kind of Pokémon will hatch from your beloved egg, the joy of having a cute baby Pokémon to love and raise."

"Depends if it's a Magikarp egg or not," Wolfy said under his breath. Within a few minutes they had reached the large stadium on the edge of town, the area was packed with spectators buying merchandise from stalls that lined the path to the stadium entrance. Loca grabbed his arm and dragged him through the crowds, slipping in between people herself but causing Wolfy to crash into them. Before he knew it they were lined up to register. There were dozens of people lining up and a few individuals calling through the crowd for someone to join them, hoping they could enter too. Standing in front of Loca and Wolfy were two twins, their blonde hair and yellow dresses matched perfectly, each had a small yellow Pokémon on their shoulders. One of the Pokémon had red markings in its fur whilst the other had blue but both were insanely cute. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it to the red one first; _Plusle, the Cheering Pokémon. Plusle is known to cheer on other Pokémon and encourage them; they have also been seen charging their electricity from telephone poles. When working together with Minun, their potential is near limitless._ He then pointed it at the one with the blue markings, knowing before the Pokédex said so that it was a Minun. _Minun, the Cheering Pokémon. It cheers on its friends in battle, when its friends are losing it gives off sparks from its body. When teamed with a Plusle their power can be devastating._

"Checking the competition?" the twin with Plusle asked smiling in a friendly manner, "Plusle and Minun are the best Pokémon team there is."

"They're so cute!" Loca said almost exploding with excitement, "I want one!"

The twins laughed before the one with Minun spoke, "That's very kind of you. I'm Grace, this is Harmony."

"I'm Wolfrick but you can call me Wolfy," he said whilst Loca practically drooled at Plusle and Minun, "This is Loca, we're travelling together."

"It's nice to meet you," they said together in unison before Harmony continued, "have you competed in this tournament before?"

"No, in all honesty we only started our journey four days ago," Wolfy said running his hand through his hair, suddenly it seemed a little foolish to be entering the tournament, "We haven't actually been in a Multi-battle before either."

Both the twins stared dumbfounded before looking at each other, the shock on their faces only added to Wolfy's apprehension. Loca managed to peel herself away from the twin Pokémon long enough to talk, "Have you two?"

"We started our journey over a year ago," Grace said after giving herself a mental shake, "We only ever battle together. Last year we came third in the competition, this year we're gunna be first."

The twins seemed determined and strong; they continued to chat as they slowly made their way to the front of the line. Once the twins registered they ran through the entrance that the marshal had told them to go through, the green door. There were also three other doors, the teams had been entering through whichever one the marshal instructed them to use, those entrances marked which group a team was in. The four groups (Red, Yellow, Green and Blue) set up the first two matches of the tournament; the winners from each group were entered into the semi-finals where they face the winner from another group. The winners of those battles got to face each other in the final.

"Pokédexes?" the marshal asked as the twins ran off, he held out his hand in which they placed their Pokédexes. The man then put them in slots on the machine in front of them, on the screen their pictures and a little background information appeared, "Team Wolfy and Loca please go through the red door."

"This is it Wolfy," Loca said as they took back their Pokédexes, "Our first challenge as a team, you ready?"

"Always!" Wolfy replied, together they walked off through the red door. Inside was a small waiting room with only two exits, the way they came and another corridor at the far end of the room which Wolfy presumed to be the way to the stadium battleground. The Red group waiting room had chairs and benches dotted around, lockers covered one wall and vending machines covered the other. Two well fed men were standing next to the vending machines, one eating a chocolate bar and the other a packet of cheese flavoured crisps. Sitting on one of the sofas in front of a large television screen were another team, two school girls from the local Trainer School, both watched the opening ceremony of the tournament on the screen. The last pair sat in the corner, whispering to each other and giving the other team's dark looks. One was a man with spikey red hair; his deep set eyes watched everything as he sat in his white vest and dark jeans. The other had blue hair that covered most of his face and scars on his arms, his black vest seemed to almost show them off. The way they were assessing the competition led Wolfy to mark them as their greatest completion in the group.

"Well this is different," Loca said looking around at the teams, cringing slightly at the well fed men as they each started a new snack from the machine, "I wonder who we're up against first?"

_"Welcome to the fifty-first Annual Naxren Tag-Team Tournament!" _the commentator's voice burst out of the television, as the camera showed the roaring crowds. The stands were packed with men, women, children and even some Pokémon. A knot appeared in Wolfy's stomach, seeing the multitudes of people only made him more nervous. "_This year the tournament is presented by the new Naxren Gym Leader, Vinen!"_

The camera showed a young man with green hair and a kind smile, his brown overcoat almost reached to the hem of his green combat trousers. He waved to the crowds, obviously enjoying every call of his name as the crowd began to chant it. "_Welcome contestants and spectators!" _he called over the roaring only to incite more chants and yells, "_We have thirty-two trainers, sixteen teams in four groups but only one team can win! Only they will take home the special prize for this year's tournament; two Pokémon eggs! The mystery eggs are donated by the Pokémon breeding school in Sionik City, only the headmaster knows what will hatch from them."_

The camera moved to show two eggs sat side by side on a cushioned pedestal, one black with red markings, the other a pale blue with white stripes. Standing next to them was Vinen, gesturing to the two eggs with his arm outstretched. The crowd roared again as the eggs came on screen, their excitement was almost contagious. _"The first round matches will be held four at a time on the stadium floor, after that the matches will be held on one of the large arenas, the environment of which will be selected at random at the beginning of each battle. The battles will be selected at random from within the groups, if you look to the big screen now it will show the match ups for the first round."_

The camera looked to the board, showing pictures of each pair at the left and right edges, each picture with a coloured border that showed their group. Wolfy and Loca were in the second match of their group, against the well fed men. Wolfy looked over to their opponents, they had at least looked away from the vending machine to see who they were up against but they still shovelled food in their mouths with appalling accuracy. The school girls and the pair in the corner both rose and walked down the corridor.

_"And here come the first contestants, introducing from the Red group, Mary and Julia from the Naxren Trainer School" _their names were met with a wave of cheers from the crowd as they entered the stadium, walking to the red battlefield. Each group had a similar field with the lines marked in their colour, all four set up in a kind of rectangle. "_Now welcome their opponents, the winners of last year's tournament; Chad and Nixon!"_

"This is kind of intense isn't it?" Loca said whilst the other names were announced, each accompanied by a cheer and the occasional boo from the crowd.

"A little bit," Wolfy said watching each contestant enter the arena, "at least we get to watch first so we can pick up a few tricks."

Loca nodded as the last of the entrants took their places.

"_Now, let's get this tournament underway," _Vinen's voice yelled over the excited crowd, "_Contestants, begin!"_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_"Will you please welcome two fresh, young trainers on their way to defeat the Lillen League, Loca and Wolfy!" _they walked out into the light of the stadium, the crowds roars were deafening as they took their places in the box on the red battlefield. The battlefield was a little larger than the one they would find at the back of a Pokémon centre but all the markings were red, the basic dirt ground gave no advantage to any Pokémon type so this battle was going to be all about power and teamwork. _"Now big cheers for their opponents, all the way from the Celadon eating contest; Chuck and Nelson!" _the two well fed trainers from the waiting room waddled to their place at the other end of the field, both still eating.

"It's time Loca," Wolfy said as the knot in his stomach tightened, "we have to cover each other's weaknesses ok?"

"Deal," Loca said with a smile before she turned back to listen to the referee standing at the side of the battlefield. He wore the standard issue yellow t-shirt with the Pokéball emblem on the chest that certified him as an official referee. In one hand he held a green flag and in the other a red flag, his bald head reflected the late afternoon sun that was slowly sinking towards the distant mountains.

"This is a tag-team match using the multi-battle format," he said in a flat, official tone, "each trainer can use two Pokémon, the match is over when all Pokémon on one team are unable to battle. On Vinen's call send out your first Pokémon."

Gible was bouncing up and down on Wolfy's shoulder, bursting with excitement and anticipation. Wolfy looked across the field to their opponents and wondered what kind of Pokémon they would use.

_"Ok referees are we ready to go?" _Vinen's amplified voice asked, all four referees held up a green flag to signify that they were ready, _"Then let's get the final battles of the first round underway! Begin!"_

Together Wolfy and Loca threw out their Pokéballs; the white flash of Loca's contrasting against the dark shadow of Wolfy's. Their opponents both held out their Pokéballs, their white flashes died down to reveal their two Pokémon. It was Charmander and Sasha versus Munchlax and Makuhita. Bothe Loca and Wolfy pulled out their Pokédexes to get a read on their opponents. _Munchlax, the Big Eater Pokémon. It sometimes gets so eager to gulp down food that it forgets about the Leftovers that it hides under its fur. A large layer of fat protects it from fire and ice type moves. Makuhita, the Guts Pokémon. In the wild it trains by slamming into trees so it can toughen its body, when it snaps a tree it takes it back to its nest as a trophy._

"Ok Charmander's fire attacks won't work well against Munchlax," Wolfy said to Loca who nodded in agreement, "you'll have to cover that weakness and attack it instead. I'll use Charmander's Inferno when we get up close to distract them."

"Got it," Loca said confidently, "Sasha fly up high and then use Air Cutter!"

"Charmander use Fire Fang on Makuhita!"

Both Pokémon took off quickly, one towards each opponent one from the air and the other running across the ground. "Munchlax use Rollout!" Nelson called and his Munchlax rolled into a ball and started moving fast towards its partner.

"Makuhita, use Vital throw!" Makuhita grabbed the still spinning Munchlax and used its momentum to hurl it even faster straight at Charmander. Charmander didn't have any time to dodge and took the powerful attack head on, he was sent skidding through the dirt and came to a halt at Wolfy's feet. Munchlax rolled back towards its partner who threw it again but into the air towards Sasha, her Air Cutter managed to blow the heavy Munchlax back to the ground where it impacted hard, taking damage from the Air Cutter as well as the fall. As Charmander rose slowly to his feet the Munchlax sat up unsteadily, it pulled out some food from its fur and started eating, restoring some of its energy.

Wolfy had never seen attacks used in combination like that, the Vital throw giving more power and accuracy to Munchlax's Rollout. An idea popped into his head to get some payback. "Loca, get Sasha to use Twister on Charmander!"

"Are you crazy?" she said looking desperate, "Charmander took a lot of damage from that attack!"

"Just trust me, I have an idea."

Loca hesitated but called the attack despite her doubt, Sasha flew in tighter and tighter circles until a tornado formed, highlighted by the dirt it picked up from the ground. She then hurled the Twister at Charmander as Wolfy called his attack, "Charmander, once you're surrounded by the Twister you need to use Inferno, Blaze may kick in but you need to control it and use it." The little orange lizard nodded firmly, wincing as he straightened up. The tornado towered before him until it swallowed him inside, from within Wolfy saw Charmander's tail flame ignite stronger. Blaze had kicked in, now he had to trust that Charmander could control it.

Suddenly a bright white light shone through the tornado, Wolfy watched as best he could through the storm and saw Charmander glowing. He was growing bigger, his arms became longer and more powerful as did his legs, a horn-like point grew out the back of its head. "Is that…"

"Charmander is evolving!" Loca cried covering her eyes from the blinding light. When it dissipated Charmeleon stood in the centre of the tornado, its crimson scales were darker than Charmander's and its claws were longer and sharper. His tail flames blazed fiercely, almost engulfing Charmeleon in fire, "I guess learning how to control Blaze was all it needed to evolve!"

Charmeleon's tail flame grew stronger as it blasted the area with his Inferno attack, the Twister lifted the flames, absorbing them until the attacks fused together leaving a tornado of fire. "Charrrr!" Wolfy heard Charmeleon's roar even over the whooshing flames, the twisting pillar of fire rushed forward, engulfing Munchlax and Makuhita in flames. Both Pokémon's cries could be heard as the tornado lifted them up into the storm before it dissipated suddenly, both Pokémon fell to the floor, their impacts causing a cloud of dust to rise.

"Makuhita!"

"Munchlax!"

When the dust settled the two Pokémon were laying on their backs unconscious and charred. "Makuhita and Munchlax are unable to battle!" the referee called.

_"What an amazing display of power!" _Vinen's amplified voice called over the cheers of the crowds, even a couple of the other matches had basically stopped to watch when Charmander evolved, _"The combination of Twister, Inferno and Blaze all added together to create one fiery attack!"_

"The match isn't over!" Nelson called sweating from the heat of the sun and the dissipating flames. Both trainers called their Pokémon back to their Pokéballs before calling out their last two Pokémon. "Go Snorlax!"

"Go Wailmer!"

The bright flashes receded to reveal two, very round, Pokémon. One was like a large ball with fins, blue on top and cream underneath. The other had a massive belly and pointed ears, its arms were thick and had five pointed claws on the hands. Wolfy and Loca pulled out their Pokédexes. _Wailmer, the Ball Whale Pokémon. They are known to land on beaches and bounce around on sunny days whilst blowing water out of their blow holes. They eat one tonne of food every day. Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. When it has eaten all it can it become too lethargic to move and it is safe to bounce on their belly. _

"Well this is new," Loca said looking up at the battlefield as she put her Pokédex in her back pocket.

"How do we battle them?" Wolf asked unsure, Charmeleon's blaze was still in effect but fire attacks wouldn't work because Wailmer was a water type and Snorlax's Thick Fat ability meant he took half the damage from fire and ice attacks. "Charmeleon, use your new Slash attack on Snorlax!"

When he evolved Charmeleon learned Slash in place of Scratch since his claws were now so much more deadly. Wolfy had to be careful though, since Blaze was still going strong it meant that Charmeleon couldn't take another hit or he would be unconscious. Charmeleon charged forwards, covering the distance in only a few paces and unleashed a barrage of Slashes on Snorlax's belly. Even though Snorlax was three times larger than Charmeleon, it didn't seem to bother him as he recklessly attacked. "Snorlax, use Body Slam!" Nelson called causing Snorlax to rise to its feet and jump on Charmeleon belly first. Charmeleon was crushed under the enormous weight of Snorlax whist Sasha used Cotton guard to defend against Wailmer's Water Gun. When Snorlax rolled off Charmeleon he was clearly down for the count.

"Charmeleon is unable to battle!" The referee called whilst Wolfy returned him to his Pokéball.

Wolfy only had one more Pokémon he could use in the match, but was it better to use Gible or Riolu? Gible was surely too small to do much against the two round Pokémon, but would Riolu manage much better? "Go for it Gible!"

"Gib-Gible!" he called as he jumped down from Wolfy's shoulder and ran towards their opponents. Sasha was having to dodge and guard attacks from both Snorlax and Wailmer and was clearly tiring despite her success at doing so.

"Snorlax, Ice Beam!"

"You too Wailmer!" Chuck called, both ice beams wrapped around each other, the cold blue lightning dancing around one another. This time Sasha didn't manage to dodge or guard and was hit with both attacks, she fell to the floor unconscious.

"Swablu is unable to battle!" the referee called whilst Loca angrily fumbled with Sasha's Pokéball, finally returning the exhausted Pokémon to the ball.

"Right, they have to lose!" Loca shouted scarily as she threw out her next Pokéball, once the white flash cleared Marvin stood proudly before them, "Go Marvin, use Spark on Wailmer!"

Marvin nodded before engulfing itself in blue electricity and charging at a lightning pace towards Wailmer who was being distracted trying to hit Gible's dorsal fin as he swam underground. Before it knew what was happening hit had been struck by Marvin's Spark and sent flying to the edge of the battlefield. Wailmer struggled to rise but was slowly righting itself.

"Don't let up Marvin," Loca called with fire in her eyes as she sought revenge for Sasha, "Electro Ball now!" Marvin quickly built up the charge on the end of his tail before whipping it around, hitting the already stunned Wailmer again.

"Wailmer is unable to battle!"

"Yes!" Loca cried as she and Wolfy gave each other a high-five, "one more to go!"

The crowd were really on their feet now as only Snorlax stood between them and the second round. On one of the other battlefields an explosion of black energy shook the stadium, whilst electricity arced through the sky from another. It must have been difficult for the crowd to know what to watch as Vinen announced the most powerful attacks and the victories from his high section of the stadium next to the Pokémon eggs.

"Gible, come up from behind Snorlax and use Dragon Rage!" Wolfy called as Gible swam through the earth to get behind Snorlax, he poked his head out and released the dragon energy at Snorlax's back before diving underground again. Snorlax roared in pain and turned to swat at the ground with its big arms, as it turned Marvin hit it from the other side using Spark. Snorlax's other arm came sailing down to hit Marvin on the back.

"Marvin use Cotton Guard!" Marvin's wool grew to twice the size and absorbed the impact but he was being held there by the weight of Snorlax's arm. "No! Marvin!"

"Keep cool Loca," Wolfy said trying to calm the enraged girl, "If you don't keep your head how are you going to find a way for Marvin to get out?"

Loca gritted her teeth and nodded, Marvin's cries obviously pained her but she managed to keep thinking until her head came up with a snap, "I've got it! Marvin, store electricity in your wool!" Marvin did as his trainer asked; the wool on its body began to expand more and more as the charge built up between the fibres. Soon the wool had grown to triple its normal size making Snorlax look like it was holding down a yellow, sparking cloud. "Now release that energy! Discharge!"

Lightning arced in every direction; lines of the crowd had to duck to avoid getting hit as did Loca and Wolfy. Snorlax got hit by the majority of the arc, it roared as the electricity coursed through its body. Gible jumped out of the ground for one last Dragon Rage and was instantly hit by the lightning but being a Ground type it didn't affect him, instead it joined with his Dragon Rage as he released it, the ball of energy crackled with power as it soared into Snorlax's head. The blast sent Gible flying too, Gible was still having to use Dragon Rage at close range since he couldn't propel it far enough and the amplified attack's blast caught him too, dealing a lot of damage. Snorlax finally fell backwards, knocked unconscious by the combined power of Discharge and Dragon Rage.

"Snorlax is unable to battle!" the referee called as Gible came slowly to his feet, Marvin walked over and used his tail to place the little dragon on his back, "All of Chuck and Nelson's Pokémon are unable to battle, Team Loca and Wolfy win!"

_"Another incredible victory for Loca and Wolfy!" _Vinen called again over the whoops and cheers, _"That means they too will proceed to the second round, one step closer to winning the grand prize of the mystery Pokémon eggs!"_

Marvin carried Gible back as Wolfy and Loca ran to meet them, Wolfy grabbed Gible and checked for injuries before hugging him whilst Loca cuddled Marvin saying "You learned Discharge! Great work Marvin."

"You were amazing Gible," Wolfy said as the Pokémon danced in his arms, "I think we need to do some extra training to perfect Dragon Rage and then we will win for sure!"

"Gible!" he shouted as he danced harder.

A few minutes later all the battles were over, the entrants to the second round decided. _"So battling tomorrow for the right to enter the semi-finals will be Wolfy and Loca versus Chad and Nixon to decide the winners of the Red group. The Yellow group finale will be Dixy and Ellen versus Paul and Simon. The Green group will be John and Clarissa versus Grave and Charity. Finally the blue group face-off will be Cherise and Chandra against Wilton and Dave!_

_"Now the trainers should return to the Pokémon centre and get a good night's rest for tomorrow the second round begins!"_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Gible are you ready?"

"Gib-gib!" The little blue Pokémon called from on top of a large rock. Wolfy had decided to get in some last minute training before their second round match the next day, he and Gible were working on how to project his Dragon Rage. They decided to stand Gible on a high rock so if the Dragon Rage failed it would explode far below him and he wouldn't get hurt.

"Now remember, focus on your breathing," Wolfy called up to it from a short distance away, "Use Dragon Rage!"

Wolfy watched as the blue light built up inside of Gible before he transferred it to create a ball in his mouth. Gible took a moment to calm himself before he released the Dragon Rage, it flew forwards about five feet before it plummeted to the ground, creating another crater in the ground. "Good job Gible, that's the best one yet!"

Gible danced around on top of the rock but slipped, he tumbled down the rock and came to a stop at the bottom of one of the craters. Gible jumped out and danced around, Wolfy couldn't help but to laugh. He loved how nothing could dampen the little Pokémon's spirits; if something went wrong he'd just shrug it off and keep going as happy as could be.

"Your Gible is pathetic," Wolfy turned at the sound of the voice to find a young man looking back at him with piercing blue eyes. He must have been about the same age as Wolfy but his hair was bright white and almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. His tall, strong stature held him well and portrayed nothing but pure confidence in himself; this wasn't a trainer to mess with. "It's astounding to me how you managed to get through the first round without it having mastered such a basic technique."

Wolfy gritted his teeth, who did this guy think he is? He didn't know anything about Gible so who was he to judge? "Gible's young, he's still learning."

"You should give up on him now," the trainer said matter-of-factly, his arrogance was really pushing Wolfy's buttons, "I came over here because I saw your Gible in the first round. I was going to challenge you both but until he can learn to use basic moves properly I'd only be wasting my time. I guess having a rare Pokémon doesn't mean it's a good Pokémon."

"What did you say?!" Wolfy shouted, unable to contain himself anymore.

"I was hoping that fighting another dragon type would help my Bagon to evolve," he said as he walked away, "but a Caterpie would be more of a fight than your runt."

"That's it!" Wolfy roared but the stranger didn't even turn, "I challenge you right here, right now!"

"I told you it'd be a waste of my time," the trainer said still not turning as he walked off, "Try talking to me once your Gible can stand up properly."

Wolfy was fuming as he watched the arrogant trainer walk away; he entered the forest that they were training next to without ever looking back to Wolfy. "Gible?" he was pulling on the leg of Wolfy's jeans trying to check if he was ok.

"Let's get back to our training," Wolfy said reluctantly, half of him wanted to chase after the trainer and insist on a battle but he knew that battling angry wouldn't help him; it would be his Pokémon that paid the price. Gible scrambled up on top of the rock and waited for Wolfy's cue, it took him a moment to steady his thoughts before he could advise Gible. "Ok this time move your body forwards when you release it, maybe that'll give it some more momentum. Ok, use Dragon Rage!"

The blue glow built up again, once Gible thought it was enough her moved it to his mouth and released it whilst lurching forwards. The ball of blue fire surged forwards, flying towards the tree they were targeting twenty five feet away. Time seemed to slow down as Wolfy watched it soar; three feet and going strong, five feet, seven feet. Once it reached eight feet it slowed down and plummeted to the ground creating another crater; they were getting closer.

"One more time!" Wolfy called, strengthened by the improvement they made. The glow built up again before Gible launched it, surging forwards. Ten feet, with every attempt they were getting closer but Gible was getting more and more exhausted. After another hour of training they had hit a wall at eleven feet, no matter how many times they tried or what techniques they used Gible just couldn't make it go any farther.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Vinen asked as he entered the moonlit area, his brown overcoat had hidden him the shadow of the trees.

"Vinen," Wolfy said a little disbelieving, he hadn't thought anyone was near them; he had purposely picked this spot because it was far enough away from town so they didn't disturb anyone. "What are you doing here?"

"I was tending the forest Pokémon when I heard your training," he said walking up to the rock Gible was standing on so he could get a better look at the Pokémon, "I've never seen a Gible before, let alone one of this colouring."

"He was given to Professor Yew by Drayden of Unova," Wolfy said walking up next to the gym leader, "he had asked the professor to give him to me when I started my journey."

"Considering how you battled today I can see why he chose you," Vinen said as Gible slid down the rock and landed on Wolfy's head, "it's good to see that you care for your Pokémon so much, they obviously care for you too."

"He's impossible not to love," Wolfy said smiling and scratching Gible's dorsal fin, he had discovered while camping that Gible liked the feeling, "but I really want him to win his first tournament and gym battle against you."

"Ah so you're participating in the Lillen League?" he asked in his soft, gentle voice, "Well once the tournament is over I'll accept your challenge, I battle one on one though so Miss Loca will have to wait her turn. I hope you don't think that, just because you have Charmeleon, you can beat my grass types easily."

"I didn't know you were a grass type gym leader," Wolfy said honestly, he was already formulating strategies in his head to defeat grass types.

"I grew up in the forests around here," Vinen said wistfully, gazing up at the star lit sky in thought, "I always felt a kinship with the grass types whilst my father cared for the bug types. My father was the gym leader before me but he's now one of the Elite Four. He left the gym to me."

"Who are the Elite Four?" Wolfy asked, he thought he'd heard the name before but couldn't put his finger on it.

"The winner of the Lillen League championship gains the right to battle the Elite Four," Vinen said reaching up and scratching Gible under his chin, he seemed to enjoy the sensation just as much as on his dorsal fin, "If they can defeat all four of them then they can challenge the Champion, the strongest trainer in all of Lillen, a Pokémon Master."

"So the Elite Four are the second, third, fourth and fifth best trainers?" Wolfy asked, Vinen nodded to indicate it was so. Wolfy never knew there was anything beyond the League Championship tournament, he wondered if he would ever reach that level.

"So why are you training so hard the night before the second round?"

"We're trying to master Gible's Dragon Rage," Wolfy said whilst Gible scrambled back up to the top of the rock, "he can form the attack but it doesn't fly very far. We've found ways around it in the past like jumping above the target or getting in close but he keeps getting caught in the blast, I don't want him to get hurt trying to attack his opponent."

"So you're trying to project the attack forwards?" Vinen said thoughtfully as the light built up in Gible's body.

"Exactly but every time we try-" Gible launched the attack as best he could but still couldn't get the attack to exceed eleven feet, "That happens."

"Well I think I see the problem," Vinen said with his finger and thumb framing his jaw line, "Gible could you please try again?"

"Gible-Gib!" Gible built up the power again, the glow forming as always.

"Now look at his stomach when he releases the attack," Vinen said still looking at the little dragon, the power moved to his mouth just before he released it. Wolfy saw it. The blue glow still reached from the stomach to the power in Gible's mouth, it was holding the attack back. "See it?"

"Yeah but why is it doing that?"

"The attack isn't fully formed yet," Vinen said looking to Wolfy with a smile, "he just needs to charge it up a little more, that's all. Gible, do it again but hold the power in your stomach for as long as you can."

"Gib?" he asked looking to Wolfy questioningly, when he nodded Gible jumped around before starting the attack again. This time he let the power build and build until the light was almost blinding before he released it. The flaming blue ball of power blasted out of Gible's mouth, smashed through the tree and impacted the boulder behind it, obliterating the stone. Shards of rock and splinters exploded outwards, once the dust settled the only remains of the tree and rock were the shards of rock in the ground and trees looking almost like gravestones.

"That's amazing!" Wolfy said dumbstruck, he turned to Gible who was stood on the rock with his mouth agape, "Gible you did it!" Wolfy's cheer broke him out of his gawping and he started dancing around on the rock, even happier than normal. He got so excited that he slipped and tumbled down the rock into Wolfy's arms, together they danced around elated. When they finally calmed down enough Wolfy looked to Vinen, "How can I ever repay you?"

Vinen was grinning from ear to ear at the spectacle of a trainer and his Pokémon dancing around like children. "You can go and rest up before tomorrow," he said pointing to the Pokémon centre, "It's almost midnight and you both have a lot to do tomorrow."

"We will," Wolfy said beaming; he never imagined a gym leader would be so helpful to someone who wanted to challenge them, "Thank you Vinen."

"No problem, now go back to the Pokémon centre," he said laughing as Wolfy and Gible almost bounced away, "and give us a good match tomorrow, I can see why Drayden took an interest in you."

Wolfy practically ran back to the Pokémon centre, elated and impatient to get the second round started the next day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"_Welcome back Naxren Town!" _Vinen's amplified voice rang throughout the stadium to tumultuous applause. Wolfy and Loca waited next to the southern entrance to the arena, they were up first against Chad and Nixon, the other winners in their group. The anticipation was murder, even Gible sat quietly on Wolfy's shoulder. Police officers wandered about, patrolling the area to keep the spectators in the stands. The crowd's whoops and roars reverberated through the walls of the stadium muting their voices, it sounded like a constant clap of thunder from a distant storm. _"Today is the day you've all been waiting for, eight teams have already bitten the dust, eight more await their battles. By the end of the second round only four teams will continue on to the semi-finals!_

_"Today's rounds welcome the added challenge of different terrains, at the start of each match a battlefield will be picked at random from rocky boulders to open water, the team that can master the terrain will surely be the victors! Without further ado please welcome the two teams from the Red group! First we have Loca and Wolfy!"_

The doors burst open, momentarily blinding the two of them as their eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. The pair walked out onto the arena floor, following the path to the trainer box on the edge of the battlefield. They waved to the crowd as they walked, being cheered on by thousands of spectators as Vinen continued to commentate. _"These two fresh trainers only started their journey a few days ago but showed amazing teamwork in order to make it through the first round." _As Vinen spoke highlights of their battle against the well fed trainers from the day before were displayed on the giant screen above Vinen, it showed the combinations of Inferno and Twister as well as the accidental combo of Dragon Rage and Discharge. _"They are easily this tournament's wild cards; can they make it all the way?_

_"Next we have Chad and Nixon from Sionik City!" _the doors at the other end of the arena opened revealing their opponents, neither waved to the crowd around them they just walked steadily forwards. Wolfy met each stare from their opponents without backing down whilst Loca continued to wave at the crowds, trying to get a Mexican wave started. Wolfy watched the highlights on the screen eagerly looking for information on their Pokémon, _"These two made it through their first round using only one Pokémon each, Nixon's Golett and Chad's Monferno making light work of their opponents."_

Wolfy watched Golett's Shadow Ball attacks explode with amazing power, whilst the speed of Monferno's Mach Punch kept their opponents away from Golett. It was a good tactic, using Monferno's speed to cover for Golett's physical frailty. If the last round was difficult, this one was going to make them go to hell and back if they wanted to win.

_"Now, Trainer's stand back from the edge of the battlefield so we can pick a new field at random." _The dirt battlefield shook as it slid under the arena floor, shifting to the right as the new field entered from the left to replace it. Once it was lined up with the hole in the arena, it rose until if fit into place revealing the terrain they were going to fight on. "_We have a Rock and Desert field! These kinds of field will be advantageous to Steel, Rock and Ground types whilst hindering Water, Grass and Fire types. Trainers make your choices carefully."_

Soft sand stretched across the large battlefield, large boulders stuck out of the sand intermittently around the field. A quarter of the field in the middle was one flat piece of rock, that was where Charmeleon could be safe but the rest of the field would stop him from moving; this was not going to be his fight. His thought turned to which Pokémon Loca would choose, his choices in Pokémon would depend upon hers. "Who are you going for?"

"Sasha can avoid the field altogether," she said thoughtfully whilst Vinen riled up the crowd, "and I think it's Elliot's turn to fight. What about you?"

"I can't use Charmeleon here," he said disappointed, he had planned on overpowering their opponents with his Inferno, "So it looks like Gible and Riolu."

_"Now let's get our multi-battle second round underway!"_

"This will be a two on two multi battle," the referee called clearly, "each trainer will have two Pokémon. When all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle the match is over. On three all trainers will release their Pokémon. One!"

The second round was about to get underway, Wolfy was determined as he gripped the Pokéball tightly in his palm. The crowd's roar became louder and louder as the anticipation built; out of the corner of his eye he saw a cunning smile on Loca's face.

"Two!"

Wolfy looked over to their opponents, both were arrogantly relaxed. Nixon stood not even looking at them or the field; he threw his Pokéball up and caught it repeatedly. Chad meanwhile looked like he was almost asleep.

"One!"

"Go Sasha!"

"Go Riolu!"

Their opponents lazily released their Pokémon not even bothering to throw the balls. Once the flashes of their Pokéballs had cleared they could finally get a look at their opponents Pokémon, Wolfy had seen both before.

_"Loca releases Sasha, her Swablu!" _Vinen's amplified voice burst out of the speakers, cutting through the cheers and occasional boos from the crowd, "_whilst Wolfy calls out his Riolu, will the flying and fighting combo work well?_

_"Meanwhile Chad and Nixon send out Golett and Monferno, the same team that flawlessly brought the duo to the second round. Well if it isn't broken, don't fix it!"_

Wolfy and Loca pulled out their Pokédexes. _Golett, the Automation Pokémon. These Pokémon are thought to have been created by an ancient and powerful civilisation. They have been active for thousands of years. Monferno, the Playful Pokémon. It enlarges the flame on its tail to discourage attackers. It can nimbly use walls and ceilings to launch powerful aerial attacks._

"You know what to do," Chad said calmly to both Pokémon on their side. Immediately Golett fired a Shadow Ball attack at Sasha who instinctively dodged the attack by flying higher. At the same time Monferno jumped from boulder to boulder, closing the gap between itself and Riolu.

"Riolu, use Quick Attack to get close to Golett!" Riolu took off at a lightning pace, bounding from rock to rock moving steadily closer to his target. Suddenly Monferno appeared in front of him and used Mach Punch in an attempt to stop Riolu, the attack came within inches of hitting its mark but Riolu flipped over Monferno to avoid it. Riolu was almost in reach of Golett when Wolfy realised that Quick Attack and Force Palm wouldn't affect Golett because it was a ghost type Pokémon, they were immune to fighting and normal type attacks. Wolfy had to think fast.

"Sasha use Air Cutter on Monferno!" Loca called, Wolfy hadn't realised that whilst Riolu got closer to Golett, Monferno had gotten close enough to Sasha to launch an attack. It was attempting to use Fire Punch; it had jumped high into the air to reach Sasha as she launched her Air Cutter. The blades of air scythed through Monferno's Fire Punch and dealt massive amounts of damage to the Pokémon too, flying was super effective against Monferno as it was a fighting type as well as fire type. Monferno was propelled towards the boulders below at high speed but managed to flip between a few of the rocks, dissipating his speed.

"Riolu use Force Palm on the rock!" Riolu obeyed and obliterated the boulder in front of him, the sharp fragments of rock tore through the Shadow Ball that Golett had launched at him and went on to deal tons of damage to Golett.

_"What a great strategy!" _Vinen's voice boomed over the battling, _"Wolfy cleverly used the boulders to overcome a type disadvantage and send a barrage of rock at Golett! Meanwhile Sasha assaults Monferno with Air Cutter, not allowing it to get in close enough to attack her!"_

"Why aren't they ordering their Pokémon to attack?" Loca asked as she looked to Chad and Nixon who were watching silently, "Isn't it a trainer's job to give the commands?"

"They're just trying to psych us out," Wolfy replied whilst Riolu decimated another bolder, "if they don't give any orders then we don't know what to expect from their Pokémon. There's nothing we can do about it so just keep battling."

Loca didn't look convinced but called an attack anyway, "Sasha use Twister!"

"Riolu use Water Pledge on Twister!"

Riolu ducked behind a boulder for cover before launching his water surrounded fist at the rock beneath him, he held it there as pillars of water burst out of the ground in a line to meet Sasha's Twister. Wolfy hoped beyond hope that they had found another combo attack and was rewarded with the sight of the Water Pledge soaring up through the Twister; it started to spin with the attack as they merged creating a maelström that tore through the field. Boulders shattered when they were hit by the attack sending stone shards spraying out in all directions. Monferno got hit by the flying rock and then the Water Twister; it was hurtled into a rock and fell unconscious.

Golett suddenly appeared over the rock Riolu had hidden behind and unleashed a fully charged Shadow Ball on Riolu's back. He was sent flying into another boulder and was also left unconscious. "Monferno and Riolu are unable to battle!" the referee called clearly over the tumultuous whoops and boos.

Wolfy and Chad both returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs, Wolfy was angered at the sneak attack but he would let his Pokémon get the revenge. "You're up Gible," he said turning to face the Pokémon on his shoulder, "We need to take down Golett so dig through the sand until you reach him."

"Gib," he said before diving head first into the sand, a second later his little dorsal fin emerged from the surface as he scurried off underground. Chad released his second Pokémon just as lazily as he did the first, the white light dissipating to reveal a small blue scorpion. Wolfy pulled out his Pokédex to check it out. _Skorupi, the Scorpion Pokémon. It lives in arid regions around the world and can survive for a year without food. Once its tail claws clamp onto its prey they secrete a poison from the tips. _

"It's a bug type to use flying attacks on it," Wolfy said to Loca who nodded and called the attack. Sasha's Air Cutter scythed through the air straight at Skorupi, the little Pokémon didn't move. It stood its ground and took the attack head on without even flinching. Wolfy and Loca looked at each other in shock, that attack should have been super effective but Skorupi didn't look hurt at all. The little Pokémon's claws started to glow white before several stringy beams of light were launched from them straight at Sasha at a frightening speed. She dodged the first few but there were too many to avoid and was hit hard by the Pin Missile attack, Sasha managed to stay in the air however.

By this time Gible was almost directly under Golett, he burst out of the ground shocking the Pokémon so it lost control of the Shadow Ball it was charging up. The attack exploded on Golett's arm. "Now's your chance Gible, use Dragon Rage!" Whilst Golett was dazed by its failed attack the blue glow built in Gible until it was strong enough, he released the blue ball of fiery energy and it scorched straight through the air. Golett took a full on impact from the attack and was blasted into the stadium wall, fifty metres from the field. Gible danced around on a rock to show how proud he was whilst Nixon looked shocked and gave Wolfy a dark look as he returned the unconscious Pokémon to its Pokéball. Gible dove underground again just in time to avoid a Pin Missile attack from Skorupi.

_"Golett is down!" _Vinen's voice boomed of the cheering crowd, _"The powerful Dragon Rage was just too much to handle! Who will be Nixon's last Pokémon?"_

Nixon was clearly angry but he kept his cool, without saying a word he released his last Pokémon. The white flash cleared to reveal a large blue and red rock; it appeared to have three legs of the blue rock with one large red spike at the bottom of each whilst its main body was comprised of blue rock with four red crystals sprouting out of its back. Three more hung down under its yellow hexagonal ears that flanked a blue crest that ran down the centre of its body. _Boldore, the Ore Pokémon. When its power reaches the limit its crystals glow brightly. The often spend their time digging underground in search of water springs._

Boldore was a rock type; the terrain would be a perfect match for the Pokémon. However many of the boulders had now been destroyed and the sand was now the dominant grounding. The heavy Pokémon moved slowly as it stomped its way across the flat rocky plate in the middle of the field, with every step its crystals began to glow more and more until it unleashed a beam of bright silver light. The beam scorched through the air and clipped Sasha's wing sending her tumbling to the ground, she landed unconscious in the sands.

"Swablu is unable to battle!" the referee called whilst Loca yelled to Sasha uselessly, trying to see if the small Pokémon was ok. She returned it before angrily throwing Elliot's Pokéball, the white flash cleared to reveal him looking determined as he stood upon a boulder.

_"What an amazing Flash Cannon!"_ Vinen's voice called over the arena, _"Both powerful and extremely defensive, this is one Pokémon not to trifle with!"_

"Elliot, use Secret Power!" Loca yelled. A yellow-brown light grew around Elliot, as it grew the ground started to shake more and more. The earthquake became so intense that Gible was forced to rise to the surface whilst Skorupi fell off another rock into the sand, Boldore stood steadily as his immense weight held it in place. Suddenly one of the boulders burst out of the ground with a fountain of sand following behind it, the rock and sand flew straight towards the dazed Skorupi. It looked like a sand arrow with a stone point, the sand sparkled in the sunlight as the torrent passed. The rock impacted first sending Skorupi flying whilst the sand chased after it eventually catching up and engulfing the Scorpion Pokémon. The torrent of sand dissipated all at once leaving Skorupi hanging in the air for a moment before it started its descent back to the earth. A cloud of sand erupted as it hit the ground, when it cleared Skorupi was clearly unconscious.

"Skorupi is unable to battle!" Chad reluctantly returned Skorupi to the Pokéball and looked angrily towards Loca, she stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Gible use Dragon Rage!" Wolfy called, the blue glow immediately growing stronger and stronger.

"Elliot use Quick Attack!" Loca called, her Eevee instantly darted from stone to stone, left to right Whilst Boldore's crystals began to glow again. Another scorching beam of silver light erupted from Boldore but with Elliot darting around the attack missed its mark. By this time Gible had charged up Dragon Rage to enormous proportions, he released it and it tore straight towards Boldore. The was a green glow before the explosion engulfed Boldore sending a cloud of rock and sand soaring up into the blue sky. Once it settled Boldore was still standing, a green force field surrounding it.

"No way!" Wolfy called disbelieving, "Not even a scratch!"

"It must have used Protect," Loca said looking at him with a flash of worry, "it stops all damage a Pokémon would take for a few seconds."

Wolfy grunted his annoyance before turning back to Boldore. Protect was a highly defensive move, almost impossible to get around. Wolfy only knew of two attacks that could break a Protect shield; Brick Break and Feint and neither of their Pokémon knew those moves. Wolfy tried to remember back to his days in Trainer School, the boring hot days stuck in the classroom going over Battle Theory. His teacher had had a droning voice that would have sent an insomniac to sleep and often did the same to Wolfy. But he did remember something about the move, it had a third weakness. "Loca, just keep attacking!"

"What?" she asked confused, "it's no use, it'll just use Protect again."

"Trust me," Wolfy said feeling cunning, "don't stop attacking, make Boldore have to keep using Protect."

She looked at him doubtfully before calling for Elliot to use Secret Power again, "Gible," Wolfy called to the dazed Pokémon as it sat half sunken in the sand, "Charge up another Dragon Rage like that last one!"

Another rock and torrent of sand flew towards Boldore, it countered with Protect, the green shield standing strong to the onslaught. Another Secret Power launched itself at their opponent but it protected itself again. "Wait Gible, not yet," Wolfy called to the little dragon Pokémon, it nodded and continued to hold the charge. Another rock arrow hit Boldore but its shield still held, the shield started to flicker as the sand rushed into it. The final Secret Power soared towards Boldore, this time when it tried to protect itself the shield appeared for a second or two before it failed, leaving Boldore exposed to their attacks, "Now Gible!"

Gible unleashed the strongest Dragon Rage yet, it seared towards Boldore whilst Elliot's Secret Power pinned it up against a rock. The Dragon Rage impacted shattering the entire plate of rock, sending shards flying until they impaled themselves on the arena walls. Half a second after the stone speared itself into the wall Boldore followed suit, its red crystal legs embedding themselves in the concrete wall. The Pokémon hung there limp for a moment before it fell to the ground.

"Boldore is unable to battle," The referee yelled over the applause, "Team Loca and Wolfy win!"

_"What an unbelievable battle!" _Vinen called over the raucous applause and cheers, "_I'm almost lost for words! The teamwork displayed between Gible and Elliot was astounding as was their impeccable strategy to get around Boldore's Protect, as we all know it fails after multiple uses so their onslaught of attacks worked perfectly!"_

Loca stood stunned as Elliot jumped on Gible's back whilst he swam through the sand towards them, "We actually won?" She asked dumbfounded, Wolfy couldn't help but to laugh. She snapped out of it as Elliot jumped into her arms, they started spinning and dancing and cheering. Gible climbed up Wolfy's back until he stood on his head, then the little Pokémon imitated Elliot and Loca's dance. Inevitably he fell down but stood up and carried on dancing.

"Lucky break kid," Nixon said as he walked up to them, "next time try to battle with a bit of style rather than hoping and praying for combos."

"Yeah, nobody likes a lucky win," Chad said as he dragged himself up next to Nixon, "We'll see you at the next tournament."

Both walked off towards the dressing room as Vinen approached, his trench coat fanning out behind him, a microphone in his hand. "Well you two, how do you feel?" he asked pointing the mic towards Wolfy.

Wolfy had to shake off the anger at Chad and Nixon before he could answer, "Elated I think is the best word as you can see," he answered gesturing towards Loca and the dancing Pokémon, it was strange to hear his voice pumped through the speakers half a second after he spoke each word, "We're just looking to take first place."

"And I'm sure your many fans hope the same," Vinen said with a smile as he looked at the dancing trio, "You know you two are becoming quite an upstart duo, your shiny Gible attracted a lot of initial attention and then you grab even more with your combinations of moves. Tell me what can we expect from Team Loca and Wolfy in the semi-finals?"

"More of the same I expect," Wolfy said trying not to laugh as Gible fell down again, "We don't really plan anything, its kind of improvised you know?"

"Well I think I speak for all of us when I say keep improvising!" Vinen said to tumultuous applause, "Now why don't you four go to the Pokémon centre and rest up, we have three more battles coming up!"

Wolfy waved to the crowd as he gathered Loca and the Pokémon, the cheers and whoops were intoxicating. The headed to the Pokémon centre, Wolfy knew it was about time for a call home. After all they were one step closer to winning the Pokémon eggs and one day closer to his gym battle. He quietly ushered Loca, Gible and Elliot out of the arena, he hoped he wasn't losing sight of why he was on his journey, after all whilst they spent days in the tournament his brother could well be in danger. He shook off the thought as they left for the Pokémon centre.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Wolfy you've really come a long way," Wolfy's mother said over the video phone in the Pokémon centre, he could see Ray bouncing in the background waiting for his turn to talk, "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks mum," Wolfy said feeling his cheeks grow red in embarrassment whilst Loca gave him a strange look from the next phone as she contacted her parents, "hopefully we'll keep winning, I really want a Pokémon egg."

"That takes me back," she replied staring off into the distance, "My grandmother gave me a Pokémon egg when I was young, the excitement of not knowing what would hatch out of it, the happiness when it finally hatches and you have a new friend to play with."

"Is that how you got your Duskull?"

"Yes, he was my first Pokémon," she said smiling happily at the memory, "We travelled together taking part in Pokémon Contests, I wasn't the greatest coordinator but we still had fun."

"You never told me you were a coordinator," Wolfy said dubiously, it was strange that she would have withheld information like that, "I thought you were just a trainer."

"It's all history now," she said bringing herself out of her mental reverie, "For now what do you plan to do in the next round? Any ideas?"

"Not really," he replied honestly whilst Loca started laughing at her dad and his new hat, "I prefer to make it up as I go. Anyway we don't know who we're up against, there's no point in strategizing when the opponents styles can be so different."

"Do you not think that's a little careless?" his mother asked as she raised her eyebrow, she often did this when she thought he was making a mistake but didn't want to say so, "Did you watch the other matches? The winners were all very different but all very strong in their own way."

In truth they had watched the other group finals whilst Nurse Joy and her Audino healed their Pokémon, the twins Grace and Harmony won their battle by using Plusle and Minun's Helping Hand to power each other up before they attacked in unison. Kyle and Jace had both used defensive types like Rock and Steel to limit any damage they would take, slowly they wore out their opponents before laying down a formidable attack to finish them off. The final semi-finalists, Axel and Lyla, used their Pokémon's speed to avoid attacks all together before unleashing their own powerful strikes, the teamwork between them was almost non-existent but they were powerful enough not to have to rely on each other.

"Don't worry so much, mum," he said trying to reassure her, "Whoever we come up against won't matter, it's all about how well me and Loca work together."

"Speaking of Loca," she said with one of those mother smiles that meant she was plotting something, "are you two an item?"

Even Loca froze when she heard the words come out of the speakers; Wolfy was speechless for a moment not knowing what to say. Trust his mum to be thinking of stuff like that. "Mum she's just helping me out with the Lillen League; you need a team to battle some of the gyms."

"Ok honey," she said with another smile that only a mum could do, "Anyway Ray's going to bounce out of his shoes in a minute if I don't let you speak to him."

"So I can see," he laughed as his little brother bounced around the living room behind their mum, he obviously had something he needed to say, "Put him on before he breaks something."

"Good luck tomorrow," she said walking off giggling at her youngest son.

The pictured wobbled as Ray ran into the cabinet that the phone rested on, his excitement was akin to that of a four year old who wanted to go to the park but had to wait for his parents to get ready. "Wolfy!" he exclaimed loudly as his face appeared very close to the camera, "I caught a Pokémon! You were right about making friends first, I saved it from a nest of angry Ariados and it wanted to be my first Pokémon!"

"Congratulations little bro!" Wolfy said genuinely proud of his brother, it was difficult to catch a Pokémon let alone without having a Pokémon to help you catch it, "So what is it?"

"Take a look," he held up a small black Pokémon to the camera. It had a rounded body with a spring like tail, its pointed ears somehow held on to a pink pearl that was almost as big as the Pokémon. Its little nose and rosy cheeks were actually quite cute, "it's a Spoink!"

"Wow, where on earth did you find a Spoink?" Wolfy asked, he'd never seen one before, not even a captured one. He pulled out his Pokédex to check on the Pokémon whilst Loca pulled the same face she did when she saw Plusle and Minun, a shake ran down her body as she became excited at its cuteness. _Spoink, the Bounce Pokémon. It uses its springy tail to keep its heart rate up as it uses its head to balance the pearl given to it by a Clamperl. The pearl amplifies its psychic powers, when it loses the pearl it becomes quickly exhausted._

"I heard its cries as I went into the woods looking for the Togetic nests," he said as if he was telling a great adventure story whilst Spoink bounced up and down happily in front of the camera, Wolfy was struck with the thought of how the Pokémon's mannerisms had already affected Ray's behaviour, "I ran over and found the Ariados attacking it with Poison Sting, I scared them off and took Spoink to see Nurse Joy."

"Seems to be a family trait to save Pokémon and then capture them," Wolfy said smiling at his brother's huge smile, "I rescued Riolu from an evil trainer."

"Speaking of Riolu," Ray said suddenly serious, "You said in your last email that you could read each other's aura, what does that mean?"

"In all honesty I don't know," Wolfy replied truthfully. He still didn't understand his connection to Riolu; he could feel its emotions over a distance and even see strong memories over the same distance but could also share feelings and images when they touched. In some ways it was really weird to have such a connection with a Pokémon, however it was also useful since Pokémon couldn't speak English.

"And where do you get these crazy combos from?" Ray asked with a bit more admiration in his eyes, "Seriously do you just improvise? We were watching on the Pokémon League TV channel, they were amazing!"

"Ideas just pop into my head and I try them," Wolfy said looking over to Loca as she finished her conversation with her family, "to be honest we've been lucky so far, sooner or later we'll try one and it'll backfire on us."

"Maybe they are something you should practice before tomorrow's match?" Ray said earnestly, Wolfy could see that working for Professor Yew was obviously having an effect on the way Ray thought, he sounded more and more like the professor, "I mean you cant keep combining things with Twister or you will become predictable."

"Maybe but I want the Pokémon to rest for now," he looked around to see the light still flashing over the door where Audino and Nurse Joy had taken their Pokémon, the light indicated when a room was in use, "They've worked really hard and deserve a rest."

"True enough, anyway I can smell lunch burning so I better go help mum," Ray said looking towards the kitchen where the air was a little hazy, "You better win tomorrow, call again after the tournament. Bye bro."

Before Wolfy could reply the call disconnected, the last image on the screen was Spoink using Psychic to make the fire extinguisher float into the kitchen whilst Ray ran in after it. Wolfy relished in how good it was to speak to his family again, he was really happy that Ray had found a Pokémon to help him out especially since it was one that could help their mum too. He was still smiling as he walked over to the desk next to Loca.

"Are your folks ok?" he asked whilst looking to the flashing light.

"Yeah," she replied lazily, "they worry a lot and want to know when we're going to be passing through."

"Well Starstruck City is quite far out of the way but we can make a detour after we challenge the gym in Sionik City?" Wolfy said working it all out in his head, they were going to head north over the mountains to get to Sionik City after they got their gym badges in Naxren Town. Sionik City was the only major City north of the mountains and the only gym that far north was in it; once they were done there they could go anywhere.

"Really?" she said suddenly excited, "You mean it?"

"Hey this is _our _journey, not just mine."

Wolfy was suddenly attacked as she wrapped her arms around him and jumped up and down, squealing with excitement she ran off back to the phone to tell her parents. Wolfy laughed at her felling a little shocked at being hugged by her but happy none the less. His thoughts strayed back to their up coming semi-final; ray was right, they needed to practice their combos if they were going to make it any further. He ran through the ideas in his head of which moves could work well together, settled on the fact that they would practice in the evening after they'd rested a bit.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Wolfy paced the red waiting room; he knew he should be watching the match like Loca was, calmly sat on the sofa enjoying the battle. The large TV screen showed the battle between Grace and Harmony and their opponents Axel and Lyla, their full speed Pokémon were obliterating Plusle and Minun. Still Wolfy kept pacing, strategies ran through his head, combination attack, type advantages, anything that could mean the difference between a victory and a loss. In all honesty he never expected them to make it this far, after all they were new trainers, they hadn't been travelling for a week yet and here they were in a tournament, they must have been out of their minds. He finally collapsed on the sofa next to Loca, feeling drained before the match had even started.

"Hey just relax," Loca said with a warming smile, "you haven't had to prepare before. If it isn't broke, don't fix it ok?"

He knew she was right, he knew he worked best under pressure and all this thinking was just stressing him out. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to the TV screen. Plusle and Minun seemed to be in a spot of trouble, they were stuck on a tall rock whilst a Blitzle and an Accelgor ran circles around them on the grassy terrain. They couldn't use their electric attacks because every time they did Blitzle's ability kicked in, absorbing the attack and using the energy to raise its speed. Plusle and Minun launched attack after attack but they all missed their mark. Suddenly, just as the two Pokémon were beginning to tire, Harmony and Grace called in unison, "Use Helping Hand and then Swift!"

The two little Pokémon held hands and became enveloped in a white glowing light, then as one they summoned a cloud of spinning stars before launching them at their targets. Swift is one of few moves that never miss their target, the stars created a tornado of bright lights which collided with both Accelgor and Blitzle. Both tripped over themselves and crashed into each other as more stars pelted them from every direction. As the last star impacted the two Pokémon were revealed, both unconscious. The crowd roared their approval at such a spectacular battle.

"That was smart of them, using Helping Hand to power up the attack," Wolfy said watching as the twins celebrated with their Pokémon. Vinen ran down to the field to begin their interview as Wolfy turned to see Loca with her "What a cute Pokémon" face, "Don't get too attached, if we get through this round then we have to face them."

"I know but look at their adorable faces!" she almost squealed in her excitement before turning to him looking grumpy, "Anyway, what do you mean "if"?"

Wolfy smiled and rose to his feet as he saw a marshal appear in the doorway, he signalled them to follow him. A few moments later they walked out onto the arena floor, the crowd's excitement was electric as they applauded and yelled. Loca and he soaked in the feeling again as they took their place at the edge of the battlefield.

_"Now for our last semi-final!" _Vinen's voice boomed over the roar of the crowd, _"First off we have Team Loca and Wolfy! Their exploits in this tournament have been proof not to underestimate the young trainers. And here come their opponents, the iron defence of Team Kyle and Jace! These two are proof that an absolute defence is near unconquerable!"_

Kyle and Jace were both merry looking, middle aged men, both were wearing waistcoats and trousers. Kyle wore a black top hat whilst Jace span a brown bowler hat around on his finger. Both looked like they were having s "who could grow the most distinguished moustache" competition. Wolfy watched as highlights of their opponents last battles appeared on the big screen, images flashed by of attack after attack being repelled by their Pokémons' amazing defensive powers. Suddenly he knew that this was going to be their toughest battle yet.

_"And now to discover the field upon which this battle will be decided," _the amplified voice grew silent as the dust field sunk underneath the arena and slid over to the right, making way for the new environment on which they would fight. _"And we have a Grass and Water stage, a flowery field with a large pond to one side. Obviously this field favours grass and water types but in terms of hindrance only the water section could hinder fire, Ground and Rock types, the field is neutral for most Pokémon."_

Wolfy sighed in relief, he dreaded having a fire type field as he wasn't sure Riolu could handle fighting on one and Gible wouldn't enjoy it either. An open meadow meant that the field was almost even except they could hopefully use the water somehow.

Vinen got the crowd riled up whilst the referee called the rules to them. "This will be a two on two multi battle," the referee called clearly, "As this is a semi-final each trainer will have use of three Pokémon. When all Pokémon on one side are unable to battle the match is over. On three all trainers will release their Pokémon. One!"

This was it, make or break time. If they failed now then they had lost all hope of getting the Pokémon eggs, if they failed then they'd leave with nothing. Why couldn't he shake the feeling that they were going to fail?

"Two!"

He looked to Loca, she grasped her Pokéball and smiled to him. Instantly the doubt peeled back, making way for pure determination. They couldn't fail. They wouldn't.

"Three!"

"You're up Gible!"

"Go Elliot!"

Gible jumped down from Wolfy's shoulder to stand next to Elliot as the white light of the Pokéball faded. Their opponents both launched their Pokéballs a long way into the field, one appeared in the grass, the other went straight for the water. The one in the water didn't emerge but remained hidden under the surface, the other was impossible to miss. It looked like a giant snake made of many boulders with a horn protruding out of the top of its head. Wolfy and Loca pulled out their Pokédexes, Wolfy checked the boulder snake whilst Loca tried to get a read on the Pokémon in the water. _Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. They have been known to create extensive tunnel networks as they dig through the ground at 50mph. They ingest large rocks by smashing them with their mouths._

"I can't get anything on the other Pokémon!" Loca said frustratedly waving her Pokédex around trying to get a better angle.

"Don't worry about it for now, that Onix is going to be difficult enough!" Wolfy replied, yelling over the roar of the crowd. Onix was enormous, easily more than twenty five feet long; it could crush their Pokémon easily. "Gible use Dragon Rage on Onix!"

The blue glow built until the little dragon released its energy, they were still a long distance off but Wolfy was impressed to see the attack hit home on the giant snake's head. Once the smoke cleared Onix was still stood tall, completely unfazed by the attack. Wolfy froze, that was Gible's strongest attack and it seemed to have no effect at all.

"Wolfy now would be a great time for a plan!" Loca yelled as Onix whipped its tail down where their Pokémon were stood, they both dived out of the way just in time.

Wolfy wasn't sure what to do, what could such tiny Pokémon do against such a large and heavy beast like Onix? Then an idea struck him. "Get Elliot to distract Onix, Gible can use dig to create tunnels underneath it and collapse them, the weight of it crashing down would surely hurt it.

Loca nodded before ordering Elliot to use Secret Power, All the grass and flowers around him started to point to the small brown Pokémon. Gible dug down and sped towards Onix, keeping his dorsal fin underground to stay hidden. A green beam of light shot from Elliot and blasted Onix in the mouth. The hulk of a Pokémon swayed a little but regained its composure quickly.

"Onix use Rock Wrecker!" Kyle called to his Pokémon. As if from nowhere a massive boulder appeared above Onix, he whipped it with his tail knocking it flying toward Elliot.

"Use Quick Attack!" Loca called to her Pokémon, instantly its little legs became a blur as it bounded towards the enormous projectile. It climbed onto the rock and darted across it before leaping off the other side straight at Onix's head. "Now use Bite on its horn!"

Elliot's little teeth glowed white before it bit into the protrusion on Onix's head, instantly the gigantic Pokémon started writhing in pain trying to throw Elliot off. The little Pokémon held strong, refusing to lose his grip on the snake. Suddenly the ground beneath Onix collapsed, Elliot let go and jumped off Onix's head and landed safely on the ground. Gible appeared beside him as Onix fell into a large pit.

"Now's our chance," Loca said to him, "Elliot use Secret Power!"

"Gible, Dragon Rage!" Wolfy yelled following his partners lead. Both attacks impacted on Onix as it tried to climb out of the pit knocking it back down.

The referee blew his whistle, ordering the fight to pause as he ran up to the edge of the pit. The tension mounted as they waited for the referee's decision. "Onix is unable to battle!" Kyle ran up to the pit to look himself, shock was plain upon his face as he returned Onix to its Pokéball. He gentlemanly nodded to the two of them before returning to his place. "Continue the battle on three. One, two, three!"

"Help me out, Ryhorn!" Kyle called as he threw his Pokéball high into the air, the white flash dissipated to reveal a stone armoured rhino. Loca pulled out her Pokédex; _Ryhorn, the Spikes Pokémon. When a Ryhorn charges at an opponent it can destroy anything that blocks its path. It is slow to react to commands however and is rarely used for domestic work as a result. _

Suddenly a stream of water blasted into Elliot and Gible, blasting them both back a dozen feet. "Where did that come from?" Loca asked, looking around for the source of the attack.

Wolfy searched the field but all he could see was Ryhorn who was a rock and ground type so couldn't use water attacks. Then he remembered, Jace's Pokémon that was hiding in the pond! He pointed his Pokédex in the direction of the water and was rewarded with the sound of the Pokédex's voice. _Omanyte, the Spiral Pokémon. It swam in the oceans in ancient times before becoming extinct. Since Geo Research Inc. started resurrecting Pokémon daily, Omanyte and other prehistoric Pokémon are now quite common in certain areas._

"It's a rock and water type!" Wolfy yelled to Loca over the cheers of the crowd, "We have to get it out of the water!"

At that moment Ryhorn charged straight at Elliot, still recovering from the surprise attack he didn't have time to dodge. The little Pokémon went flying before tumbling over the ground. "Elliot!" Loca screamed running over to her partner as the referee called his decision that Elliot could not continue. They were in a panic; things weren't going to plan at all. Elliot was out of the fight, the defences of their opponents were almost overwhelming let alone the power they backed it up with.

This was going to be a tough fight.


End file.
